New Scream Aims to Shoot This Month

The coronavirus pandemic saw a number of movie and TV productions shut down earlier this year, but now with Hollywood embracing new protocols to ensure the safety of crew members, the new Scream sequel is able to start shooting in the coming weeks, with Variety confirming the film will head into production by the end of the month. The outlet also noted that the project has added the French-Arab singer, model, and actor Sonia Ammar in an unspecified role. Ammar joins the previously announced returning cast members Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Marley Shelton, as well as newcomers to the series Dylan Minnette, Mason Gooding, Kyle Gallner, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mikey Madison, Jack Quaid, Melissa Barrera, and Jenna Ortega.

The new film comes to us from Ready or Not directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, taking over the franchise from co-creator Wes Craven, who passed away in 2015. While fans of the series and its stars are devastated to embark on such a project without Craven, Arquette detailed how he hopes the new film not only lives up to its predecessors, but also serves as a healing process for coming to terms with Craven’s passing.

“I talked to the directors and they were huge Wes fans,” Arquette shared with the Corpse Club podcast. “He’s been a huge inspiration for them their whole career. So, they have their hearts in the right place, they want to do something that he’d be proud of. And then the fact that Courtney’s coming back and hopefully Neve [Campbell] comes back as well — there’s something healing about that, for us to be able to carry on these films that he’s done, and just keep telling stories.”

While Craven directed the original four films, the franchise was also explored on the small screen with Scream: The TV Series, which embraced the tone of the slasher-comedy and introduced a new mythos. With that series failing to capture the attention of audiences as effectively as the feature films, it’s clear that Craven’s influence on the genre was hard to ignore.

“I mean, he was an incredible storyteller, but beyond that, he was just one of the greatest human that I’ve ever met in my life,” the actor detailed. “He was so supportive, he was incredibly smart, soft-spoken, he was a bird-watcher, which is so funny to learn, he loved music and was really supportive … I miss him a lot. It will be hard and we’ll think about him a lot. But it will also feel good just to be back in his world that he created.”

The new Scream is set to hit theaters on January 14, 2022.

Are you looking forward to 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!