The new film of the saga “Scream” will arrive in theaters on January 12, 2022. Fifth feature film, it does not however carry the number 5. The producer explained the reason behind this choice.
Scream: Ghostface is coming back soon
More than ten years after unmasked in Scream 4, Ghostface will return to Woodsboro early next year. In this new film, simply baptized Scream, the masked killer will cross paths with old acquaintances. Indeed, while he attacks a group of teenagers, Sidney (Neve Campbell), Gale (Courteney Cox) and Dewey (David Arquette) will do everything to stop him once again.
But stopping the masked killer won’t turn out to be a small affair for our three heroes, as the Scream trailer revealed a few days ago. Once again, the identity of Ghostface should be linked directly or indirectly to Sidney, who has to fight against his past since the very first installment of the saga released in 1997.
Why not Scream 5?
As said before, this new film follows on from Scream 4 by Wes Craven released in 2011. It does not wear number 5, but takes back the title original of the first feature film. A decision that did not fail to make the fans of the horrific saga react. Recently interviewed by Us Magazine, the historic producer and screenwriter of the saga, Kevin Williamson, wanted to answer this question:
I believe the idea of calling it Scream 5 was never considered. And I think nobody wants to see a number 5 of something (…) I think taking out the 5 and just calling it Scream works because it’s a new movie. There’s the original cast, but that’s surrounded by a whole new, younger cast, which I find really great (…) now it’s Sidney and the others who are the adults.
Through these lines, we can imagine that this new film takes on the reboot dimension of the saga, and that other films are to be considered. The idea of starting from scratch is also explained by the fact that Wes Craven passed away in 2015, and that this is the first film in the saga that he does not direct. So he couldn’t fully fit into the legacy of the franchise. But the latter is in good hands, as the directors are fans of Craven, as Kevin Williamson noted:
I was very apprehensive about making this film without Wes. The directors sent me a letter in which they told me that they were doing this job thanks to him. They were honored to make this film. They really wanted to pay homage to Wes, the way he opened up, and I truly believe they succeeded.
Scream is in theaters on January 12, 2022.