Scream 6 Writers Open Up About That Killer Opening Scene (Exclusive)

Shocking opening scenes have been a staple of the Scream franchise since 1996, when Wes Craven killed off his movie's biggest star just 10 minutes into the movie. Each of the Scream films has a twisted and distinct opening scene, but the first sequence in this year's Scream VI might be the most surprising — and gruesome — since the original. The film opens with a young man, played by Tony Revolori, killing his professor (Samara Weaving) as Ghostface, setting up a potential movie where the audience knows the identity of one of the killers the entire time.

The rug is pulled from underneath audiences a second time just a few minutes later, when Revolori's character gets a call from the real Ghostface. There was a twist stacked on top of another twist to open Scream VI, a move usually reserved for the ending of a Scream film.

ComicBook.com recently spoke to Scream VI writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, and we had the chance to ask about that opening scene. According Vanderbilt, there was never any doubt this was how they wanted to open the movie, even if having a revealed killer for the entire runtime is an enticing concept.

"We talk about every permutation in the early days when we're just pitching and brainstorming, but I think we really wanted the story to center on the sister characters, Sam and Tara, and really dig into the emotion of that," the writer said. "But we definitely wanted you to think that we might be having a Scream movie from either Ghostface's perspective, or at least knowing the identity of one of the killers, because that's just a fun idea and it's also shocking. That's never been done before. That's making you lean forward a little bit.

"So I'm glad that it played that way, that was definitely intentional. I think that we did want to then pivot back and have a twist or a reveal on a reveal, and have the Ghostface get a call from the actual Ghostface of our movie, who does not care about movies. We're in uncharted waters at that point, and it's like, 'Well, then what is this movie about? How is this going to work?' That was it, that was the intent."

Scream VI is out now on Digital HD and streaming on Paramount+ and hits 4K Ultra HD, Blu-ray, and DVD on July 11th.