Scream (film) - Sequels

Sequels

For more details on this topic, see Scream (film series).

Williamson had attached 5-page proposals for potential sequels to Scream when he originally sold the script, hoping to entice prospective buyers into buying a film and a franchise. When Dimension Films bought the script, they secured Williamson for two future Scream films, should the original prove successful. After a highly-positive test screening of Scream at which executives from Dimension Films and Miramax were present, Craven was signed to direct the two future sequels. After the film's box office and critical success, the first sequel was greenlit and sent into production while Scream was still in theaters. The second picture was given an increased budget. The surviving cast—Campbell, Cox, Arquette, Kennedy, and Schreiber—all returned, as well as much of the original crew, including editor Patrick Lussier and composer Marco Beltrami. A third film followed shortly after, again with the crew and surviving cast returning to create what was, at the time, the concluding film in the Scream trilogy. The three original films, released in a five-year period, followed the story of Sidney Prescott's encounters with a succession of killers adopting the Ghostface disguise. The films also analyze her relationship with her deceased mother, who inadvertently initiates the events depicted in the films. Scream 2 fared as well financially and critically as its predecessor, while Scream 3 fared significantly worse on both counts, with critics deriding the film as having become what the original had so deftly satirized.

Fifteen years after the release of Scream and eleven years after the release of the last film in the series, The Weinstein Company released a new sequel, Scream 4, on April 15, 2011. Campbell, Cox and Arquette all return to their roles, and Craven, Williamson, and Beltrami return to the production side. The Weinstein Company stated that the success of Scream 4 could lead to potential sequels and a new Scream trilogy, with Campbell, Arquette, Craven, and Williamson all having been contracted or expressed interest in appearing in future installments.