The original 1996 slasher film Scream has already had three sequels and a 2015 MTV series, however, since fans can’t get enough of the masked killer, another reboot is officially in the works.
Neve Campbell, who played Sidney Prescott in the original films, has signed on to reprise her iconic role alongside previously announced David Arquette.
“After spending time speaking with Radio Silence, they have shown such love, respect and admiration for Wes Craven and all that he’s created in the Scream franchise. I am beyond excited to step back into the role of Sidney Prescott and return to Woodsboro,” she said in a statement.
Arquette will be back as Sheriff Dewey Riley and is “thrilled to reunite” with his “Scream family, old and new.”
“Scream has been such a big part of my life, and for both the fans and myself, I look forward to honouring Wes Craven’s legacy,” Arquette said in a statement.
Joining them are new cast members as well as new cast members Jack Quaid (The Boys), Melissa Barrera (In The Heights) and Jenna Ortega (You).
While no other casting announcements have been made, conversations are underway for other legacy cast to join the project.
Its stars, most of who were already very well known at the time, included Arquette, Neve Campbell, Matthew Lillard and Courtney Cox, plus a very special appearance by Drew Barrymore.
According to The Hollywood Reporter back in March, Spyglass Entertainment is developing the new film and has attached the directors of horror film Ready or Not, Matthew Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett.
If you’re not familiar with Ready or Not, it starred Australian star, Samara Weaving, who played a newlywed hunted by her spouse’s family as part of a wedding night ritual.
The 2019 film made an impressive $57 million USD at the worldwide box office, on a budget of just $6 million.
Both Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett are part of the horror filmmaking group, Radio Silence, which also includes producer Chad Villella.
Villella has been behind a slew of flicks including Devil’s Due, V/H/S and Southbound, and now, the next instalment of Scream.
In 2018, Lantern Entertainment (whose co-presidents, Andy Mitchell and Milos Brajovi form one half of Spyglass with former MGM head Gary Barber) took control of the Scream franchise from the Weinstein Co. in their 2018 bankruptcy sale.
The original 1996 horror movie was directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson, which focused on a young woman in a small town, who became the target of a serial killer who wore a mask inspired by the Edvard Munch painting, The Scream.
The film was so huge that it put Craven’s name on the mainstream map.
Scream was a long-running genre-busting horror franchise which generated four feature films including Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000) and Scream 4 (2011).
Directed by famed “maestro of horror,” the late Wes Craven, the films went on to gross more than $600 million in worldwide box office receipts.