Hello, Sidney… or should we say Sam? The Scream franchise is rolling full steam ahead after a 10 year hiatus. The “requel” Scream (2022) brought in a new generation of fresh meat and a new pair of final girls, Sam and Tara, as this ongoing saga moves forward. Shortly after the film’s release, we got big news about a sixth Scream (Scream VI) film coming our way. Who can resist more Ghostface, more slicing and dicing, and keeping up with the many horror movie rules?
Here’s everything we know about Scream VI.
Title
The title for this film is Scream VI (also stylized as Scream 6), which is wild considering they decided to not call the previous film Scream 5.
Scream VI’s Plot
We don’t know much about the film’s plot at this time. But, the official synopsis from Paramount Pictures is a small hint at what’s to come:
Following the latest Ghostface killings, the four survivors leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter. In SCREAM VI, Melissa Barrera (“Sam Carpenter”), Jasmin Savoy Brown (“Mindy Meeks-Martin”), Mason Gooding (“Chad Meeks-Martin”), Jenna Ortega (“Tara Carpenter”), Hayden Panettiere (“Kirby Reed”), and Courteney Cox (“Gale Weathers”) return to their roles in the franchise alongside Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, Josh Segarra, and Samara Weaving.
Scream VI will take place in New York City. So that evens the score with three films in Woodsboro and three taking place elsewhere. Tara, Mindy, and Chad are attending college in the Big Apple while Sam tags along to help keep her little sister safe. Jenna Ortega revealed in an Entertainment Weekly interview that there’s once again tension with Sam and Tara. “At the top of the film we see my character Tara avoiding her trauma and desperately trying to reclaim her teenage experience and become normal college student,” says Ortega. “There’s a lot of tension between her and Sam, she feels as though she’s too protective and unwilling to allow them both to move on. She feels suffocated.”
And, according to Melissa Barerra, its only been around a year since the previous film’s events. That’s fascinating to hear. Sometimes time jumps can enhance a movie, but sometimes its best to keep the timeline tight. In any case, we’re excited for this Scream VI timeline because it will allow us to really see how the characters are dealing with and evolving from the horrors they encountered in the previous movie. One of those people is Gale, who works and lives in the city. So she will easily come back into the fold.
The film is really leaning into the NYC-ness of it all with this fun New Year’s Day graphic expressing Ghostface’s resolution to “travel more.” And by traveling, he (or she… or they) mean killing more people.
Really interesting details, especially with Kirby’s station being closed and how all the lines lead to Sam. While the franchise is moving forward with a new chapter, perhaps we will still get some nods to the past after all.
We also get our first look at everyone in action in the first teaser for Scream VI.
Interestingly, a closer look at Ghostface revealed a new rendition of the iconic mask. In Scream VI, Ghostface is donning an aged, weathered-looking incarnation.
Director Tyler Gillett had this to say about Ghostface’s new look.
It will all make sense in the context that you see it in the movie…That was another one of the really interesting risks and creative approaches in this movie. It’s meta in a different way, and the mask very much factors into that.
Fellow director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin concluded, “It was not an arbitrary choice.”
Behind the Scenes
Radio Silence’s Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett will return to direct Scream VI, with James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick penning the script. The film was shot in Montreal and finished filming in August 2022.
Scream VI’s Cast
Melissa Barerra and Jenna Ortega will obviously return as sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter. Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding are also reprising their roles as Mindy and Chad Meeks-Martin.
Unfortunately, Neve Campbell will not come back Sidney Prescott, citing salary dispute issues. It will be the first Scream movie to not have Sidney, which is rather sad. However, Courteney Cox is bringing the infamous Gale Weathers back in some capacity. And, in perhaps the biggest delight for fans, Hayden Panettiere is bringing back Kirby for Scream 6. There’s been speculation that Kirby survived the events of Scream 4 and, after a couple of clever Easter eggs in Scream (2022), it became certain. It’s not clear how Kirby will fit into the picture at this time but Panettiere says Kirby is still the same, just older and wiser. In fact, we get a good look at her and the entire cast on this new poster.
In November 2022, Ortega spoke to Entertainment Weekly about how the film is so “gore-heavy” that fans may not notice Sidney’s looming absence. She also affirms that Scream VI will still honor Sidney’s legacy. “But it’s very clear, like, there’s references to Sidney, of course,” said Ortega. “You know, it’s nice because there’s still a protectiveness in the script and that’s something that the actors had naturally over her because obviously we respect her and we want the best for her. She’s missed and thought of.” So it will be interesting to see what references come up about Sidney in this film.
We don’t know too much about what either Gale or Kirby will be doing in this next installment of Scream… But, one thing is for sure: they are going THROUGH IT, based on these photos.
For new cast, Dermot Mulroney will portray a cop while Samara Weaving, Henry Czerny, and Spider-Man‘s Tony Revolori have also joined the cast in undisclosed roles. Jack Champion will portray a character named Evan, Devyn Nekoda will be Alison, Liana Liberato will play Carly, and Josh Segarra rounds things up as David. We don’t know much about these characters but we can assume that the former three are college students alongside Tara. Segarra’s David is a bit older so maybe he’s an ill-fated NYC cop or even a love interest for Sam.
Scream VI’s Release Date
Scream VI will release on March 10, 2023.
Originally published on September 30, 2022.
