The residents of Woodsboro may never catch a break.
Another “Scream” sequel, from Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media, is in the works on the heels of the recent box office success of “Scream.” (No word on what the sixth “Scream” installment will be titled.)
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Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are returning to direct the next slasher story, and James Vanderbilt (“Murder Mystery,” “Zodiac”) and Guy Busick (“Ready or Not,” “Castle Rock”) will co-write the screenplay.
Principal photography is slated to begin this summer. In keeping with “Scream” tradition, plot details are under wraps. But, if we had to guess, it probably involves a killer wearing Ghostface mask who targets the supremely unlucky inhabitants of Woodsboro, Calif.
“We are tremendously grateful to the fans around the world who enthusiastically received our film,” Spyglass and Paramount Pictures said in a statement.
The newest R-rated “Scream” — not to be confused with 1996’s “Scream” — brought back Marley Shelton, Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Neve Campbell to the quiet town of Woodsboro, where a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers. New additions to the series included “In the Heights” star Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega (“Jane the Virgin”), Dylan Minnette of “13 Reasons Why” fame and Jack Quaid.
The fifth entry opened in theaters last month and has since grossed more than $100 million at the worldwide box office. That’s a scary-good result since “Scream” only cost $25 million to produce.
Horror maestro Wes Craven created the genre-bending franchise and directed the first four films, “Scream” (1996), “Scream 2” (1997), “Scream 3,” (2000) and “Scream 4” (2011). The latest addition, which dropped the numeral in an attempt to relaunch the series and brand it as a “requel,” marked the first without Craven at the helm.
Even without Craven’s hand, the fifth “Scream” earned praise for Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett, the duo behind “Ready or Not.” In Variety’s review, chief film critic Owen Gleiberman calls “Scream” a “meta slasher thriller” that “winks entertainingly at the badness of sequels.”
“Is it fun? Mostly, yes. Surprising? It keeps faking you out about who the killer is, and playing that guessing game is part of the film’s suspense, but it’s a suspense based on the fact that the film can stay one step ahead of us in a totally arbitrary way,” he wrote.
For “Scream 6,” as it likely will not be called, Project X Entertainment’s Vanderbilt, Paul Neinstein and William Sherak will serve as producers. Franchise co-creator Kevin Williamson and Chad Villella, who is the third member of Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett’s filmmaking trio known as Radio Silence, will executive produce alongside Spyglass co-founder Gary Barber and Peter Oillataguerre.
“Working with such a wonderful and talented family of creators — and in the lineage Wes and Kevin 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,” the members of Radio Silence said.
Vanderbilt and Busick added, “Is this real life? Getting to collaborate once again with our friends on the next installment of the ‘Scream’ story is more than we could have hoped for. We are overwhelmed that we get to continue to play in the sandbox that Kevin and Wes created. It is, as Ghostface would say, an honor.”
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