Every so often, a film sequel gets made despite having zilch to do with the original film. It occurs less often on TV, but that’s exactly what’s happening with MTV’s upcoming Scream series, based on the highly lucrative film franchise of the same name. The show’s creative team will reportedly be leaving the Ghost Face mask out of it altogether, which basically means this series will be inspired by murdered teenagers. News about dead teens always makes me think, “That’s so Scream!”
The news comes from Ghost Face creator R.J. Tolbert, who spoke with GhostFace.co recently about the subject of the copyrighted character appearing in the series, and here’s what he had to say.
Please note that I had been in communication with TWC regarding this and they have informed me that, as of now and during the initial launch, that Ghost Face is not involved in the new format. They also indicated that because of this direction, it does not mean, that Ghost Face will not be involved at a later date. So, there is still a question , to the question. However, as of now, there is no involvement.”
You gotta love anyone who says there is still a question to a question. This is pretty surprising news, given I can’t possibly correlate any other image with the concept of Scream than the Ghost Face mask. (Nor the Scary Movie films.) Sure, I can picture Jaime Kennedy in turmoil, but I don’t want that to get showcased in the MTV series either. Tolbert wanted to make it clear to everyone that he feels the same way about the connection between the killers’ mask choice and the film series.
We [Fun World] believe Scream is Ghost Face and Ghost Face is Scream. However, while Ghost Face is owned by Fun World, the Scream motion picture franchise is owned by The Weinstein Company, and it is their option to film a movie or TV show without Ghost Face.”
The plot was already completely removed from Wes Craven’s hit films anyway, so it’s pretty disappointing to find that MTV and TWC are making this a 100% in-name-only cash-grab. In the series, a girl named Emma (Willa Fitzgerald) and her best friend Aubrey (Bex Taylor-Klaus) see their relationship and lives turned upside down when a private video of Aubrey’s goes viral and incites a murder in the teens’ small town. Other characters include Aubrey’s newer best friend Noah (John Karna) and popular kid Brooke (Carlson Young). I’m guessing a twist or two will enter the picture at some point as well. (There was already a casting twist leading up to the pilot.)
Sure, there’s still a chance that Ghost Face will make his presence known at another point in the series’ existence, but it has to actually last first. And what are the chances of that happening if they don’t even have the core franchise image to market it with?
