The next installment of the iconicScreamfranchise is highly anticipated, and it’s coming soon. Based on the buzz surrounding new posters and trailers, and the amount of online discussion, this is going to be a big movie. This will be the fifth film in the franchise and comes over 10 years after the fourth, meaning there’s been a lot of time for fans to get excited.
WhenWes Craven’s originalScreamwas released in 1996, it changed the horror genre forever. It was a satire on the stale slashers seen in the late-80s and early-90s, but it also was very much a teen scream slasher movie. Since then,Screamgrew into a franchise with three more films of fairly consistent quality. None match the brilliance of the original, but none of them are bad either.Scream2022 is being released in mere days, and it will be the firstScreamfilm to come out following Craven’s passing in 2015.
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There haven’t been too many details given out about the latest installment, but they have been playing a lot with the marketing. It’s clear that they’re anticipating this film will be a big release, and they’re right. There have beenmultiple trailers and posters, all offering a lot of teasers and misdirects. It’s already designed as a bit of mystery, and fans are breaking out their sleuth caps. Searching social media will provide those who wish to find them with many theories, ranging from the style of the film as a whole to who the new Ghostface is, to who might be back from the past. Are any of these fan theories plausible?
Ghostface Cult
One of the most common theories regarding who the killer will be is that there is a Ghostface cult behind it all in this movie. Twitter user@Gazzz_Williamssuggests this, theorizing that all of the teens seen being attacked in the movie are completely in on it. They are obsessed with Billy and Stu, the killers from the first movie, and are making their own “Stab” movie.
Part of why this is a popular, and potentially real, theory is because a similar plot was actually proposed forScream 3.Writer Kevin Williamsonwanted there to be a Ghostface worshipping cult behind the kills, but it didn’t work out. It would also serve as a commentary or satire on fan culture, which is the root of these films.
Dewey’s Demise
Another popular fan theory is that one of the most lovable legacy characters will meet his end in this fifth installment. Officer Dewey, first a deputy and then Sheriff, started the franchise as a good-hearted but goofy side character. By the end, he’s strong and mature and very important to the story.
With three legacy characters confirmed for the film so far, at least one of them will likely be killed. Reddit useru/screamfan96has good reason to believe it’s Dewey. Using the logic that at least one legacy character will die, he is just the most likely. Courtney Cox’s Gale Weathers is a very popular character as well, and the emotional impact of her death wouldn’t be as intense on the series’main final girl Sidney. This film could mark the end of Sidney herself, but considering they are depicting her as a new mom many fans feel that isn’t the direction this is going.
Stu is Back
Stu was one of the original killers inScream1996 and because it’s technically never confirmed that he’s dead, fans and the character’s actor Matthew Lillard himself have long lamented that he could come back. The question has always been how, and when.
Promo forScream2022 has focused heavily on Stu’s house, which was the location of the finale in the original movie. While many believe that’s just a callback to the OG, some fans like Reddit useru/Elixah_h04think he’s back for revenge. In this user’s theory, they state thatStu may be backand coaching a new generation of Ghostface killers, but others have come up with many reasons for the character’s return.
It’s a Meta Interpretation
YouTube channelWeWatchedAMoviehas its own idea for the whole style of the film, and it could prove to be very divisive. They believe that this is going to be a whole meta film, in which audiences are watching the legacy actors and newcomers play themselves trying to survive a real-life Ghostface attack.
This sounds like a really wild idea, but it does have some plausibility. Wes Craven himself did this withhisA Nightmare on Elm StreetseriesinWes Craven’s New Nightmare. That film paved the way forScreamin many ways and as this is the first of the franchise without him, it could be a neat way to pay homage if done well. Actors, writers, and producers ofScream2022 have also talked largely about how meta the movie is, how it’s really not just “Scream5”, and that it’s different from what audiences will expect.
Not everyone will like this idea though, and if it’s done badly it could be completely awful, so this would be a massive risk for the writers and directors to take on.
Ghostface Comes Out on Top
In what would be a first for the franchise,what if the bad guy wonin the end? Reddit useru/TabbyLorethinks it’s a possibility. There’s no reason to believe this couldn’t be true, though it does mean the likely death of all three confirmed legacy characters.
It would be something completely different and exciting for fans but may come with heartbreaking consequences. Done well though, those consequences might be totally worth it and if there are moreScreamfilms planned for the future it could mean a true fresh start for the series.
