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What Will Scream 6 Be About?


It came as no real surprise that Scream (2022) was a huge hit at the box office, especially given the unwavering popularity of the meta slasher series, which started way back in 1996. But now, a sixth film has already been confirmed for release on March 23, 2023. But what will Scream 6 be about?

Scream 2022
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Scream 2022

Scream (2022) directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett will be returning to helm the upcoming sequel, which was green-lit on February 3, this year, just weeks after the release of the fifth film in the meta slasher series.

The new sequel is scheduled for release on March 23, next year, and it looks like most of the creative team is set to return. Not only that, but many cast members themselves will be reprising their respective characters.

Warning: There are major spoilers ahead for Scream (2022)!

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But what will Scream 6 be about? How do the filmmakers intend to come up with a compelling plot and a new motive for the Ghostface killers (or killers)? Well, we don't have the answers, but here's what we do know...

First, we need to revisit Scream (2022), which is undoubtedly where all the clues will lie. But how can we be so sure? Is it possible the next film will wipe the slate clean and start over with a new bunch of characters? It would seem not.

Related: Scream 6 Release Date, Studio, Where to Watch, Trailer and Everything You Need to Know!

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Based on recent casting announcements, it's already clear that Scream 6 will serve as a direct sequel to Scream (2022), much in the same way that Scream 2 was a direct sequel to the original Scream, and the same with Scream 3.

Scream 6 will see the return of Jenna Ortega (Tara Carpenter), Melissa Barrera (Sam Carpenter), Mason Gooding (Chad Meeks), Jasmin Savoy Brown (Mindy Meeks), Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers), and Neve Campbell (Sidney Prescott).

Related: What is Jordan Peele's Nope About?

Scream (2022)
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Scream (2022)

Even Hayden Panettiere will be returning, having played Kirby Reed in Scream 4. Scream (2022) confirmed that she had survived her stabbing in the 2011 film using a blink-and-you'll-miss-it Easter egg.

So we know that the Scream (2022) gang is getting back together, plus a Scream 4 survivor, but sadly minus a Scream series legacy character. Yes, Dewey Riley (David Arquette) was brutally killed in the latest movie.

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Scream 2022
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Scream 2022

Scream (2022) takes place 10 years after Scream 4 (which was 10 years after the original trilogy ended). This time, a new group of Woodsboro teens fall prey to a new Ghostface killer, while legacy characters also make an appearance.

Sidney Prescott, Dewey Riley, and Gale Weathers returned to help the teens work out who the new killers are, while also helping them to stay alive. Naturally, though, the body count piles up from start to finish.

Related: Is The Cabin the Woods Worth Watching

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During the film, it is revealed that "final girl" Sam Carpenter is the illegitimate daughter of original Ghostface killer Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), and even has hallucinations of her dead psychotic father.

But the biggest reveal, obviously, is the two Ghostface killers - Sam's boyfriend Richie Kirsch (Jack Quaid), and her sister's best friend Amber Freeman (Mikey Madison), whose motive is strangely amusing - and very relevant.

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Scream (2022)
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Scream (2022)

With several Stab movies now in existence, naturally, the fandom has grown over the decades. But super-fans Richie and Amber explain that Hollywood has "run out of ideas" and the quality of the Stab movies is suffering.

As such, they decide to stage a real-life murder spree that will undoubtedly go on to inspire a more "authentic" Stab sequel, with the last few having not been based on any real Woodsboro murders.

Related: Cabin in the Woods Ending Explained

Scream 4
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Scream 4

This also explains why they lured legacy characters Sidney, Dewey, and Gail back into the fold, while focusing on a new set of characters at the same time, not unlike legacy sequels in the Star Wars and Ghostbusters franchises.

While an amusing and somewhat hilarious motive, it's also very relevant, drawing on the toxicity of many geek fandoms, something that plagues the Internet nowadays more than anything else.

Related: Halloween Kills Ending Explained

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But in true Scream fashion, Richie and Amber were swiftly disposed of. So where can we go from here? Who will the next killer or killers be, and what will be their motives? And more importantly, what will be Scream 6's motive?

The original Scream analyzed the slasher subgenre, while Scream 2 cast a lens over the rules of a sequel. Scream 3 unpacked the rules of a movie trilogy, and Scream 4 made a (shoddy) attempt at commenting on then-modern reboots.

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Evidently, Scream (2022) took the angle of legacy sequels, citing the likes of Ghostbusters: Afterlife and Jurassic World to reinforce that commentary, while at the same time offering its two scents on "elevated horror".

Scream 6 needs its own angle, but seeing as we've covered all territories, what's left? Well, seeing as the title Scream (2022) is a reference to Halloween (2018), could the next movie will pick up the same night just like Halloween Kills?

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Related: Halloween Ends Release Date, Trailer, Cast, Plot, News and Everything You Need to Know

After all, many survivors from that film will be returning. Perhaps there's another Ghostface on stand-by, or maybe the film will somehow touch upon the idea of prequels, although we're not entirely sure how this would work.

Production for Scream 6 begins in Canada in June.

Scream 6 stars Jenna Ortega (Tara Carpenter), Melissa Barrera (Sam Carpenter), Mason Gooding (Chad Meeks), Jasmin Savoy Brown (Mindy Meeks), Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers), Neve Campbell (Sidney Prescott), and Hayden Panettiere (Kirby Reed).

It will be released in theaters on March 31, 2021.

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