Times may change, but Scream will never die. The sixth film in the Scream franchise will hit theaters on March 10, 2023. The final trailer released by Paramount on March 7 features Ghostface trying to kill everyone, including Hayden Panettiere‘s Kirby Reed. Jenna Ortega‘s Tara Carpenter has a plan to defeat Ghostface. “We’ve got to lure him in. And then we execute him,” she says.
Fans previously got a glimpse at the film in the trailer that came out in January. In the footage, Kirby warns the survivors that this Ghostface is unlike any other, and she shows them Ghostface’s shrine to the past massacres. There’s also a brutal fight scene between Ghostface and Courteney Cox‘s Gale.
In 1996, horror film buffs were introduced to one of the most iconic movie villains of our generation: Ghostface. Like Halloween (1978), Friday the 13th (1980), and A Nightmare On Elm Street (1984), Scream quickly became a bonafide hit and spawned several sequels. The franchise told the story of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), who was terrorized by a number of killers wearing a Ghostface mask until the franchise ultimately stalled with the fourth movie in 2011.
Then, in 2022, the franchise was revitalized with Scream, a sequel that was given the same name as the original movie. The success of that fifth film in the franchise led to the announcement of a direct sequel — Scream 6 — in February 2022. Want to know more? HollywoodLife has all the latest updates about the cast, the release date, and more. Plus, find out if there will be a Scream 7!
Scream 6 Release Date
Scream VI will now be released on March 10, 2023 by Paramount and Spyglass Media Group. The original release date was March 31, 2023. Paramount basically swapped the releases of Scream 6 and Dungeons & Dragons: Honor Among Thieves. The Dungeons & Dragons movie was pushed from March 3 to Scream 6’s original release date.
Scream 6 Plot
This film is set to take place in New York City. All the movies that came before it took place in and around the fictional town of Woodsboro, California, so this will be the first time the franchise is branching out to other locations. The official synopsis reads: “The Scream saga continues with the four survivors of the Ghostface killings as they leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter.”
“In a city of millions, no one hears you scream,” the tagline of Scream 6 reads in the first teaser trailer. In the brief footage, Ghostface attacks Mindy when she’s on the subway. The poster features Ghostface’s reflection in the window of a New York City subway.
Scream VI director Tyler Gillett revealed to EW that the four survivors have “all come to New York to go to school. One of the things that was so exciting to us was bringing the story and bringing this slasher icon into a new location. I think across the board, for the writers Guy [Busick] and Jamie [Vanderbilt] as well, this was such a fun opportunity to explore what that would feel like, bringing the world of Scream into that setting. The teaser is a good example of how we’re having fun with that throughout the movie. That is one of many sequences in the movie that uses the city really to its benefit and in surprising and thrilling ways.”
Not much more is known about the upcoming sequel, and that’s exactly how the cast and creators want it to be. “They have us so tight-lipped around here. All I can say is how it feels. I don’t wanna say the wrong word, but it feels scarier…I think people are gonna be surprised,” Scream star Melissa Barrera told Us Weekly.
One thing we do know: there’s going to be a new Ghostface mask. “It will all make sense in the context that you see it in the movie,” Tyler revealed. “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.”
Scream 6 Cast & Crew
Melissa won’t be the only cast member returning for Scream‘s newest sequel. Jenna Ortega (Wednesday), Mason Gooding (Booksmart), Jasmin Savoy Brown (Yellowjackets), Hayden Panettiere (Scream 4), and Courteney Cox (Shining Vale) will also be back. Unfortunately, Neve Campbell won’t be appearing in the movie, so Courteney’s iconic Gale Weathers will be the only character to be featured in all six of the Scream movies.
“It’s always good to see Gale Weathers and how her life has evolved,” director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin told EW. “It’s really nice to see Gale in her element in New York.” As for Hayden’s return in Scream 6, Tyler also teased, “She was wonderful. She was really great. It was fun to have her around to tell us about Scream 4“. She had a lot of great stories she got to share. It’s that Scream family; it’s continuing to grow for us.”
In June 2022, Neve revealed she would not be returning to the franchise after issues regarding her contract and salary. At the time, she told HollywoodLife in a statement, “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. 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.”
At the Scream 6 premiere in NYC on March 6, Skeet Ulrich, who played Billy Loomis in the franchise, talked about Neve being absent from the film. “She’s the final girl, no doubt, but yeah, I think she misses it, all of it and everything,” he told PEOPLE. “This is new to me — I did [the original Scream] and then a big jump, we didn’t have this kind of thing obviously because of the pandemic for [last year’s fifth Scream], so this is like years and years’ of growth,” Skeet added. “So I think she has more to miss. To me, it’s new and exciting.”
The returning Scream cast members will be joined by newcomers Henry Czerny, Samara Weaving, Tony Revolori, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, and a few others. When recently asked about his character, Dermot told ScreenRant, “Yeah, I play a cop…I guess I shouldn’t say that my daughter is one of the victims…but I don’t have to describe how or in what way, so that’s what draws me into the story is strong family ties.”
Directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, who first joined the franchise to direct the fifth movie, will also be helming this new sequel. And just as well, Scream writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, who also wrote 2019’s Ready or Not, are returning for the latest installment of the franchise.
Finally, Kevin Williamson, who was an original writer and creator of the franchise, will be back to executive produce this movie as well.
Does Dewey Come Back In Scream 6?
David Arquette‘s character, Dewey Riley, was killed in the fifth Scream, so it seems very unlikely that he’ll be back for the sixth movie. However, Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) appeared in hallucinations in the last movie, so it’s always a possibility that Dewey could make a cameo in a similar way. Still, nothing has been confirmed at this time.
Is Stu Coming Back In Scream 6?
There were multiple rumors that Matthew Lillard was meant to return as Stu in Scream 3 and that the original script was nixed after the 1999 Columbine High School massacre. Matthew actually confirmed that theory in an interview with Vulture in January 2022, so Stu may very well be alive in the Scream universe — he just hasn’t returned as Ghostface yet. At this time, though, there’s no new plan for Matthew to return to the franchise.
Who Are The Killers In Scream 6?
Only time will tell who the next Ghostface killer(s) will be. The first trailer has one Ghostface coming for Mindy, but there are others dressed as Ghostface on the subway as well. Could this be a hint that the crew will have to face multiple Ghostfaces again?!
Will There Be A Scream 7?
While it’s still unclear whether there will be more Scream movies after this latest installment, producer Kevin Williamson told Collider that he thinks the franchise “can go on”. He said, “I’ve been proven wrong repeatedly. Since this last one was such a pleasure… I also think one of the wonderful things about Scream is that there’s a different killer in every film. There’s [Jason Voorhees, Michael Myers, or Freddy Krueger], they don’t go away. And Ghostface changes with every movie, so we have an opportunity to change the motive, change the story, and we can always twist and turn it since it [the original Scream] was always meant to be a game-changer.”
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett addressed the possibility of Scream 7 at the Scream 6 NYC premiere. “We hope. We want to be watching Scream movies whether we’re involved or not for the rest of our lives,” Matt told Deadline. Tyler said, “We’re so happy it’s back.”