New Scream Nearly Cast Ready or Not Star Samara Weaving

Last year’s Ready or Not was one of the breakout horror hits of the year, proving that a clever concept and talented performers were more effective than cashing in on a familiar franchise, with the film’s star Samara Weaving recently confirming that she was hoping to reunite with that film’s directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett for their new Scream, but that scheduling conflicts prevented it from happening. With Weaving herself being praised for her blend of humor and horror in that endeavor, fans likely would have loved to see that reunion, though we’ll have to be patient about such an event happening.

“We were talking about it, but our schedules aren’t gonna work, which is a bummer,” Weaving confirmed with Collider about being involved in the new Scream. “We talked about it a lot, but unfortunately, because of scheduling, I couldn’t do it. I’ll still be [in Australia], working on Nine Perfect Strangers, so we couldn’t make it work. Traveling is very difficult these days.”

While it sounds as though the actress is disappointed she won’t be collaborating with the filmmakers in the near future, she likely isn’t too disappointed to be deviating from genre films. Despite earning acclaim for her roles in Ready or Not, as well as Mayhem and the Ash vs. Evil Dead TV series, she admitted herself that she was apprehensive about doing the movie because of how many horror roles she had taken in her career.

“I read the script and I loved the script,” Weaving detailed to ComicBook.com. “I was a little hesitant because I’ve done so many horrors. However, I hadn’t played a protagonist before and this script was so good. I couldn’t put it down. It’s always a really good sign when you read it in one sitting. I didn’t want to take a break and force myself to read it. It was just right there on the page. And then when I met with Tyler, Matt, and [producer] Chad [Villela], I brought all these ideas about wanting Grace to be… I wanted to avoid playing the typical damsel in distress.”

She added, “And they were so collaborative with my ideas regarding Grace and her story, along with Fox Searchlight. And that was really refreshing because sometimes you really have to fight or you feel unheard and they were the complete opposite. They were so kind and really willing and they were just great to work with. It was such a great team.”

Luckily, the new Scream has confirmed that original stars David Arquette and Courteney Cox will be returning for the upcoming sequel, with Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera also joining the endeavor.

Stay tuned for details on the new Scream.

Do you wish Weaving had been available for the new film? Let us know in the comments below or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things horror and Star Wars!