Following in the footsteps of fellow horror franchises like Halloween, it was announced earlier this year that Scream is returning to the big screen soon, and it’ll be a continuation of the original film series rather than a full-blown reboot like the Scream TV series. Among the people returning for Scream 5 is David Arquette, who will of course be reprising fan-favorite Dewey Riley.
Needless to say that David Arquette is excited to be jumping back on the Scream saddle, but during a recent interview with CinemaBlend, he acknowledged that working on Scream 5 will also be bittersweet due to the passing of director Wes Craven, who helmed the first four Scream movies. In Arquette’s words:
It’ll be bittersweet, because (of) being on set without Wes (Craven). But it’ll also be exciting for him to… I dunno, I think everyone’s still connected or out there, part of something bigger. I don’t know, it’ll be cathartic, I guess.
Shortly before Scream 4 was released in 2011, Wes Craven mentioned that he was contracted to work on Scream 5 if Scream 4 was successful, although Craven would only have committed to the fifth installment if he saw a finalized script beforehand. Scream 4 was ultimately met with mixed critical reception and grossed $97 million worldwide off a $40 million budget, making it the lowest-grossing movie in the Scream franchise.
By June 2015, the Scream TV series was breathing new life into this horror franchise, and Wes Craven passed away the following August at the age of 76, with Scream 4 being his final movie. So Scream 5 will certainly mark the beginning of a new era, and while David Arquette acknowledged that it is unfortunate that Craven won’t be around, it’ll also be interesting
Along with David Arquette, Scream 5 will also see the return of Courtney Cox as Gale Weathers, who, like Dewey Riley, has been part of the Scream franchise since the beginning. Neve Campbell was also in talks to reprise fellow longtimer Sidney Prescott, but it’s still unclear whether she’s officially on board or not.
Behind the cameras, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are helming Scream 5, so it’ll be interesting to see how their directorial style in the Scream universe differs from what Wes Craven brought to the table. James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick are writing the script. No Scream 5 plot details have been revealed yet, but at the very least, we can likely expect someone to adopt the Ghostface killer persona to wreak bloody havoc.
Scream 5 is expected to come out sometime in 2021, so keep checking back with CinemaBlend for more updates on its progress. You can learn what movies are supposed to arrive later this year with our 2020 release schedule.
As for all you David Arquette fans out there, 2020’s been a big year for him; along with already appearing in Spree, he has 12 Hour Shift coming up and is also the subject of the documentary You Cannot Kill David Arquette, which will be released on August 28.
