The first few releases of 2022 have started trickling out, and one of the most anticipated for January is the new Scream movie. Helmed by Ready or Not directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the new installment in the beloved franchise features a mixture of new and legacy characters. As you can see in the video above, I recently had the chance to speak with the cast of the new movie, where they revealed how they reacted to the film’s tight security and fake scripts on set.
Wes Craven and those who made the Scream movies were worried about spoilers years before social media even existed. And with generations of horror fans brought up on the slasher property, security had to be extra tight for the new Scream in order to guard its secrets. 13 Reasons Why alum Dylan Minnette let me in on the secrecy surrounding the new sequel, saying:
It was tight. Security was tight. I think we were all convinced we knew what was going on, and then at a certain point I started hearing rumblings of fake versions of scripts. And I didn’t believe it at first. I thought it was just people being sarcastic, but then I realized it was true. And then you start to question yourself and everyone around you. And you start to not trust each other. It sort of blends the themes of the movie into real life with the actors a little bit.
It certainly sounds like the set of 2022’s Scream was an immersive one. Because while the denizens of Woodsboro suspected their friends and loved ones of being Ghostface, that sense of paranoia was shared by the cast thanks to fake scripts. Someone cue Sidney Prescott’s theme song.
Dylan Minnette plays new character Wes Hicks in Scream, who is the teenage son of Chief Judy Hicks. Marley Shelton originated the latter role in Scream 4, and had the privilege of working with Wes Craven before his death in 2015. But despite being a returning character, Shelton felt similarly baffled by the handling of scripts. As she told me,
We were all given different versions of the ending in the scripts that we were given. And the producers went as far, with me at least, and I don’t know to this day if this was a ruse or what. But they tried to backpedal and get the script back. They said ‘Oh my god, we gave you the wrong version.’ They were all numbered and watermarked and they asked what draft I had, what version, and I told them and they’re like ‘Oh ok we gave you the right one.’ So I really don’t know if this was all part of it, part of the fake out. But it was good.
It sounds like filming Scream was a super unique experience for the killer cast of actors. On top of following new safety and health protocols to keep the set free from COVID-19, the scripts clearly threw folks for a loop. Luckily the new slasher is almost here, and they won’t have to guard the movie’s secrets for long.
Actor Mason Gooding is another newcomer in Scream, playing Chad Meeks-Martin aka the nephew of Jamie Kennedy’s Randy. I asked the Love, Victor actor about the tight security on set. He offered his two cents, saying:
What I think threw me off the most was that we would ask about certain plot points and they would tell me I was right. And then it would just not be the case. And I was like ‘Oh that’s cute, that’s fair.’
Now that’s just cold. Fake scripts are one thing, but “confirming” bogus theories takes things to another level. In the end these efforts seem to have worked, as the new Scream is full of awesome performances.
We’ll just have to see if 2022's Scream starts a new series of movies, or if the fifth installment is one-off. It likely comes down to box office performance, which can be tricky in the ongoing pandemic. But early reception for the movie has been quite positive, so there is definitely hope.
Scream will hit theaters on January 14th. In the meantime, check out the 2022 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
