Prepare for one of 2023’s biggest horrors: following the success of the latest Scream, 2022’s half-reboot, half-sequel to Wes Craven’s darkly funny 1996 slasher classic, Scream 6 is on its way.
And now we have a brand new trailer to prove it, giving fans a first glimpse at a welcome returning face in the blood-soaked sequel.
Despite moving to New York City, Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara (Jenna Ortega) soon find themselves in trouble, and the trailer gives us a first look at a deadly run-in with Ghostface.
The footage also shows Hayden Panettiere reprising her role as Kirby Reed for the first time since Scream 4, as well as fellow returning cast member Courteney Cox, who reprises her role as Gale Weathers once again.
The pair team up with the Carpenter sisters to fight against the new Ghostface killer and the action looks pretty tense, if the latest trailer is anything to go by.
While we can expect returns from Reed and Cox, one core cast member won’t be reprising her role in Scream 6.
Neve Campbell, who has played lead character Sidney Prescott in all five previous entries in the horror franchise, most recently in 2022’s Scream, will not be part of the project as she was unimpressed with the offer from the studio.
“Sadly I won’t be making the next Scream film,” she said in June 2022.
She continued: “As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Scream. I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.”
Read on for everything you need to know about Scream 6.
Scream 6 release date
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Scream 6 is currently scheduled to hit cinemas on 31st March 2023.
This means the movie is set to be released a little more than 14 months after the last Scream, which landed in cinemas on 14th January 2022.
It was confirmed in February 2022 that a new Scream movie would be going ahead, with studios Paramount and Spyglass announcing at the time: “We are tremendously grateful to the fans around the world who enthusiastically received our film.
“We can’t wait for audiences to see what Radio Silence [directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett], writers Jamie [Vanderbilt] and Guy [Busick] and Project X [Entertainment] have in store for our Woodsboro family.”
Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett added: “Working with such a wonderful and talented family of creators – and in the lineage Wes [Craven] and Kevin [Williamson] so expertly built – has been the thrill of a lifetime and we’re so excited to bring the next chapter in the Scream saga to life.”
In March 2022, Courteney Cox not only announced her return for Scream 6, but also revealed that filming was set to kick off in June 2022.
“I got the script yesterday,” she told Entertainment Online. “I haven’t read it yet, I just got it […] I’m excited to read it, and I know they’re gonna start filming I think in June, in Canada. I don’t know if I’m supposed to say anything.
“Let me tell you the killer!” she went on to joke.
Scream 6 cast
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As detailed above, Melissa Barrera’s Sam Carpenter, Jasmin Savoy Brown’s Mindy Meeks-Martin, Mason Gooding’s Chad Meeks-Martin and Jenna Ortega’s Tara Carpenter – who all survived Scream 5 – are all set to return once again and face the killer known as Ghostface (with Roger L. Jackson returning as the sinister voice) in the next chapter.
Dermot Mulroney (My Best Friend’s Wedding) has joined the cast of Scream 6, according to the Hollywood Reporter.
In addition to Mulroney and the four leads from Scream 5, the slasher sequel is also set to include actress Hayden Panettiere, who starred in 2011’s Scream 4 as Kirby Reed.
As mentioned above, legacy Scream cast member Courteney Cox has also confirmed her return as Gale Weathers.
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Neve Campbell, meanwhile, has said she won’t be returning for the sequel after a pay dispute.
“Sadly I won’t be making the next Scream film.” Campbell said in a statement to Variety.“As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Scream. I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.”
She continued: “It’s been a very difficult decision to move on. To all my Scream fans, I love you. You’ve always been so incredibly supportive to me. I’m forever grateful to you and to what this franchise has given me over the past 25 years.”
It’s not looking so good for primary Scream cast member David Arquette either, after his character Dewey Riley was brutally murdered by Ghostface in Scream 5.
Scream fans will remember that Riley wasn’t the only returning Scream character to meet a grisly end in Scream 5, with Marley Shelton’s Judy Hicks killed off along with her son Wes, played by Dylan Minnette.
Sonia Ammar’s Liv McKenzie, Kyle Gallner’s Vince Schneide, Jack Quaid’s Richie Kirsch and Mikey Madison’s Amber Freeman were also killed off.
Behind the camera, James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick are back as writers, while Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett return as directors.
“This movie has to be willing to risk it all in order to subvert all of those expectations,” Gillett previously told Empire about Scream 6. “And we’re so far down the rabbit hole of Scream movies, that it’s all up for grabs at this point.”
Scream 6 plot
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According to The Hollywood Reporter a brief plot synopsis teases that the movie “continues with the four survivors of the Ghostface killings as they leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter”.
While the details are largely being kept under wraps, it seems likely then that the upcoming instalment will follow the four confirmed cast members Ortega, Barrera, Gooding, and Brown, as they flee Woodsboro in the hopes of a fresh start.
Sadly, this being a Scream sequel, their hopes of a peaceful existence seem unlikely.
Cox previously heaped praise on the script for Scream 6, telling Entertainment Tonight: “I don’t know about contracts and where things are, but I’ll tell you in the script — it’s a really good one.”
She added: “You actually have to be killed if you talk about it, so I’m not gonna say anything.”
The Scream franchise is known for providing meta commentary based on the tropes of the horror genre, which often means subverting viewers’ expectations.
Speaking about how Scream 6 will have to go further down a meta horror rabbit role than ever before, Gillett previously told Empire: “This movie has to be willing to risk it all in order to subvert all of those expectations. And we’re so far down the rabbit hole of Scream movies, that it’s all up for grabs at this point.”
Is there a trailer for Scream 6?
Yes, as detailed above, a trailer for Scream 6 has landed, giving fans a look at returning franchise cast members Hayden Panettiere and Courtney Cox.
The footage also gives fans a first glimpse at the new Ghostface killer, and they’re sporting a new weapon: a shotgun. Watch below:
Scream 6 is scheduled to arrive in cinemas on 31st March, 2023. Check out more of our Film coverage or visit our TV Guide to see what’s on tonight.
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