A Scream reboot shouldn’t happen, let’s just get that out of the way first. Series creator, and all-round horror icon, Wes Craven passed several years ago and the truly terrible MTV series based on his beloved property proved, as if it were in any doubt, that without him (and, er, Ghostface) Scream isn’t really Scream. However, Hollywood can’t leave well enough alone and a reboot is most definitely on the way. Thankfully, it seems the right people are, at the very least, at the helm of this thing.
THR reports Matthew Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who are part of the Radio Silence team and directed last year’s rather brilliant Ready Or Not, which featured Samara Weaving as a vengeful bride and boasted a streak of self-aware, Scream-like black comedy, are directing the upcoming Scream reboot. The lads, along with Chad Villela, form horror film-making group Radio Silence and Villela will, naturally, act as a producer here. The project is courtesy of Spyglass Media, who got the rights upon joining forces with Lantern Entertainment, who got them from the Weinstein Company in their 2018 bankruptcy sale (suck it, Harvey).
Related: Ready or Not [Frightfest 2019 Review]
Scream needs no introduction in these parts, but it’s worth remembering Craven’s 1996 slasher-comedy, which was written by Kevin Williamson, turned the genre completely on its head. Arguably a perfect movie, it spawned three sequels of varying quality (though personally I’ll defend the quadrology to the death, particularly the eerily prescient Scream 4). Scream took $100 million domestically, launching the careers of Neve Campbell, Skeet Ulrich, Matthew Lillard, and loads more.
The MTV series, meanwhile, was met with barely disguised scorn from horror fans, particularly in the most recent season, which found one of our own unmasked as the killer and then giving a speech about how horror movies made them do it (the exact antithesis to Craven’s vision, spelled out so beautifully by Billy in Scream with his infamous “movies make psychos more creative” line).
See Also: Is It Just Me Or Is Scream 3 A Decent Sequel?
Details on this latest Scream reboot are scarce. Even calling it a reboot may prove to be wrong, as it might take the Candyman approach and simply carry on the story in the modern day. However, getting the Ready or Not guys onboard is certainly a step in the right direction. If it has to be done, at least give it to horror fanatics who know what they’re doing.
Stay tuned to Wicked Horror for more details on the Scream reboot as they become available.
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