You scream, I scream, Paramount screams for more Scream

The legacy sequel starring Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox is getting a sequel

You scream, I scream, Paramount screams for more Scream
Ghostface doing what he does Photo: Paramount

The Scream series is perpetually pushing a franchise’s luck. It’s kind of what it’s known for, giving you the rules of a horror movie while also following them. With the release of the legacy sequel Scream, which was the only movie to knock another legacy sequel (sort of), Spider-Man: No Way Home off the top of box office (for a week anyway), Paramount is eager to keep the franchise going until it’s effectively parodying itself—again.

Per Deadline, the creative team behind 2022's Scream is returning. YouTube collective Radio Silence, which includes Scream producer Chad Villella and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, will once again be working off a script by co-writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. Scream creator Kevin Williamson will serve as executive producer.

“Working with such a wonderful and talented family of creators–and in the lineage Wes and Kevin so expertly built–has been the thrill of a lifetime and we’re so excited to bring the next chapter in the Scream saga to life,” Radio Silence said in a statement.

2022's Scream was a box office and critical hit. Arriving at a time, when legacy sequels are overwhelming the box office, with sequels to Ghostbusters, The Matrix, and even Jackass dusting off old franchises for audiences ready to visit with some old friends. Scream was no exception. Despite the untimely death of series director Wes Craven in 2015, much of the principal cast, including Neve Campbell, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox, returned for this latest stab at the franchise.

The new Scream barely made it work, according to our Senior Writer Katie Rife. She wrote in our review of the new movie:

The weight of legacy still holds the movie down. (It’s a heavy burden, too. The late Wes Craven, an undisputed horror icon, directed every Scream movie except for this one.) In its strained effort to combine established players with new ones, Scream’s structure nearly collapses on itself, building momentum and then squandering it for a visit with another old pal. This is most obvious with a pivot midway through the film that brings all of the many characters to the same familiar location. It’s a device that lands with a loud, clanging thud.

Maybe the series actually does need a reboot before we get another reboot parody.

 
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