Credit: Paramount Pictures / Radio Silence ProductionsDespite being the sixth installment in the long-running “meta slasher” franchise, Scream VI (2023) has slashed its way through the box office and then some. And now, it looks like Scream VII (TBA) is on the cards.
The truth is that many of us never expected Scream to even get this far. After the late Wes Craven seemingly ended the original trilogy with Scream 3 (2000), wrapping up Sidney Prescott’s story and putting an end to Ghostface — the one who started it all at least — once and for all, we never thought the series would ever be revisited.
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Oh how naïve we were! In 2011, Craven returned to helm Scream 4 (2011) — a sort of “anniversary reunion” affair, if you will. However, it was originally made to kick-start a new trilogy, but that never happened, which likely had something to do with it being the lowest-grossing film in the series ($97 million worldwide against a budget of $40 million).
Consequently, we ended up getting two Scream television shows on MTV and Netflix, and it would take another 10 years for a new sequel to arise in the form of the aptly-titled Scream (2022). And now, its follow-up Scream VI is shredding the box office to pieces, and has become the highest-grossing film in the series domestically, and the third to cross $100 million worldwide (which hadn’t happened since 1997’s Scream 2). It now sits at $161 million+ at the global box office.
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Needless to say, this kind of success means that Scream VII is absolutely inevitable. In fact, the announcement is likely just days away — weeks at the most. After all, last year, Scream (2022) was released in January, and the announcement for Scream VI was made the following month, with cast members confirming their return by March.
Recently, Scream writer Kevin Williamson even said that the Scream films “could go on forever”, due to the fact that, unlike Halloween‘s Michael Myers or Friday the 13th‘s Jason Voorhees, for example, the Ghostface killer is different in every film. And though you might think the series will end up stretching itself too thin, we’re already passed that point!
Related: Every Ghostface Killer In the ‘Scream’ Movies Ranked
While, of course, it is possible for many different genres to enjoy success at the box office simultaneously, the success of Scream VI does leave us wondering about the future of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, and the superhero genre as a whole, which has been in decline for the past few years and is now in a major slump many are calling “superhero fatigue”.
When you look back at how “traditional” blockbusters made a huge comeback last year, with films such as Top Gun: Maverick (2022), Jurassic World Dominion (2022), and Avatar: The Way of Water (2022) obliterating the box office, all of which are sequels to films that go as far back as the ’80s, and how Scream VI, a sequel to a slasher series that started back in the ’90s, is also taking movie theaters by storm, it makes us wonder whether the “renaissance” of these death-defying genres could be the final nail in the coffin for Marvel and DC.
Check out the official Scream VI trailer below:
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As per Wikipedia, here’s the official synopsis for Scream VI:
The film continues with the survivors of the latest Ghostface killings, sisters Samantha and Tara Carpenter and twins Chad and Mindy Meeks, leaving Woodsboro behind and starting a new chapter of their lives in New York City only to again be plagued by a streak of murders by a new Ghostface killer.
Scream VI stars Jenna Ortega (Tara Carpenter), Melissa Barrera (Sam Carpenter), Jasmin Savoy Brown (Mindy Meeks), Mason Gooding (Chad Meeks), Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers), Hayden Panettiere (Kirby Reed), Roger L Jackson (the voice of Ghostface), Dermot Mulroney (Wayne Bailey), Henry Czerny (Christopher Stone), Tony Revolori (Jason Carvey), Jack Champion (Ethan Landry), Devyn Nekoda (Anika Kayoko), Liana Liberato (Quinn Bailey), Josh Segarra (Danny Brackett), Samara Weaving (Laura Crane) and Skeet Ulrich (Billy Loomis).
Related: ‘Scream’ and ‘Friday the 13th’ Will Cross Paths In New Slasher Series
When do you think Scream 7 will be announced? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments below!