Scream 5: Courteney Cox returns to the slasher fray

A new studio and creative team are looking to give the Scream series a proper restart, and Courteney Cox is returning for the upcoming sequel!

The tale of the Scream series was one of triumph at its inception – in 1996, the first film captured a sense of slasher self-awareness that resonated with several generations of audiences. The 1997 sequel wasn’t bad, either.

But when Scream 3 rolled around, hints of stagnancy started to permeate the formula. By the time the fourth installment hit theaters, 11 long years had passed, and with it, the era of self-awareness had given way to the proliferation of faux-grindhouse efforts and ghost stories.

So, when it was announced that, yes, there would be a Scream 5, my sense of hesitancy led to a sigh of relief when I heard the series had transitioned from Dimension to Paramount. Big studio they may be, but remember: they gave us the none-too-shabby 10 Cloverfield Lane, the barnstorming WWII gore epic, Overlord, and Darren Aronofsky’s unclassifiable Mother!

More promising news followed with the creative team: directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett were responsible for the 2019 sleeper Ready or Not. Meanwhile, the screenplay is credited to Guy Busick (another Ready or Not alumnus) and James Vanderbilt, who penned the ultimate true-life-killer guessing game, Zodiac.

With the recent reveal that series mainstay David Arquette would be returning for Scream 5 as Deputy Dewey Riley, Deadline broke the news that Courteney Cox would be reprising her role as ruthless reporter Gale Weathers.

Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett had this to say of Cox’s participation:

"“We can’t imagine Scream without the iconic Gale Weathers and are so incredibly thrilled and humbled to have the opportunity to work with Courteney. We’re absolute mega fans of her work and we’re so excited to join her in the next chapter of the Scream saga!”"

The fact that a full decade will have passed between Scream 4 and 5 has me optimistic that the new creative team will consider the changes that have occurred within the horror landscape and perhaps even pull the story away from the bolted-to-reality slasher mechanics of the previous efforts. The series’ iconic killer is Ghostface, after all, and horror cinema’s been infested with those as of late.

Scream 5 is tentatively set for a 2021 theatrical release.

Are you psyched for Scream 5? How do you feel about Courteney Cox reprising her role as Gale Weathers?