‘Scream’ Writer Reveals That the Movie is an Homage to ‘Halloween’
The Scream horror movie franchise has been around since 1996. And if writer Kevin Williamson has anything to do with it, the series won’t be going anywhere anytime soon. The screenwriter and executive producer says he hopes the franchise will live on. Moreover, he notes that Scream is an homage to another powerful horror franchise.
Kevin Williamson wrote the original ‘Scream’
Back in 1996, Kevin Williamson penned a script so original and fresh, it broke the mold for a genre gone stale. Now, with original director Wes Craven dead and yet another Scream on the horizon, Williamson is sharing some of his thoughts on the iconic franchise.
Williamson is the executive producer on the fifth Scream movie, which is titled simply Scream. Many fans know the 2022 upcoming flick as Scream 5. However, he said there’s a reason it’s not the official title.
“I don’t think they ever seriously were going to call it Scream 5,” Williamson recently told Us Weekly. “I don’t think anybody wanted to see the number five after something. You’d have to ask them — Paramount or whoever, but I think taking the 5 off and calling it Scream [works] because it’s brand new.”
Williamson explained how the old cast members and the new fuse together to create a whole new horror movie experience.
“There’s the legacy cast, and how they infuse this new world and there’s this whole new generation and a new cast of characters that are extremely fun,” he continued.
“I think it was a great cast. It’s an amazing group of kids and young talent and they’re very, very good. They pop off the screen, and now our Sidneys and our mature characters who enter into it, they’re the adults. It works really really well. ”
Williamson said he hopes the franchise lives ‘forever’
Asked whether there would be another movie after Scream 2022, Williamson reflected on the franchise’s similarities with Halloween.
“I would love for it to live on forever because I love knowing that this universe is turning and Scream is in it,” he told Us Weekly. Additionally, he said that franchises could successfully continue as long as there is enough creativity and originality to each new installment.
“I love that they keep making Halloween because Scream is an homage to Halloween. I hope they never stopped making Halloween movies. I’m still waiting for another Friday the 13th, and I hope that comes soon and I would love to see Scream live on. I think there’s a place for these franchises, and as long as we can tell new, original stories across the board, I still think franchises can live on.”
‘Scream’ 2022 opens in theaters early next year
The new Scream opens in theaters nationwide on January 14, 2022. It features original stars (and Scream franchise mainstays) Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette.
Additionally, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mikey Madison, Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding, Dylan Minnette, Jack Quaid, Jenna Ortega, and Kyle Gallner appear in the new film.
In an October 2021 interview with Variety, original cast member Skeet Ulrich (who won’t be appearing in the new Scream) reflected on the franchise’s enduring success.
“For a long stretch of time, I didn’t think about it much at all,” he told Variety. “Then I started doing horror conventions six or seven years ago and was introduced to this subculture that’s still rabid about it and passed it down generation to generation. Then I started to realize there was something different about this movie, something that continues to reach people. I’m no psychologist, but whatever that is, it gets to people still.”
And if Williamson has much to do with it, Scream will continue to “get to” fans for years to come.
