Wes Craven may be gone, but the horror maestro will never be forgotten.
The upcoming Scream–which lands in theaters Friday, Jan. 14–is the first film in the franchise without Craven at the helm, and two of the legacy stars took time this week to fondly remember the legendary filmmaker.
Neve Campbell (Sidney Prescott) and David Arquette (Dewey Riley)–in an interview with comicbook.com–admitted they were leery of this next installment without Craven. “We’d been apprehensive about doing it without Wes just because he was the master and the reason these movies are as fantastic as they are,” Campbell said.
“But Matt and Tyler wrote us a letter expressing that they became directors because of Wes Craven,” she continued, “and that they could not believe they were having the opportunity to make this movie. So, that really set the tone for their enthusiasm and their love and their wish to honor his legacy.”
Campbell added that the cast “have felt Wes–his absence–but we certainly felt his presence as well. We talked about him every day. Every time we shot a scene, either Matt or Tyler would want to know what Wes might have thought, what his opinion would be.”
Executive producer Kevin Williamson–who wrote the screenplay for the original Scream–also said he was “very nervous about the new film. And then I met the directors and I just fell in love with them. I think Wes Craven would be very happy, and I think he would love these guys because they speak his language.”
This new Scream–directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett from a screenplay by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick–stars the returning Campbell and Arquette, along with Courtney Cox and Marley Shelton. The newcomers include Melissa Barrera, Kyle Gallner, Mason Gooding, Mikey Madison, Dylan Minnette, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Sonia Ammar.
The film picks up 25 years after the first murders shocked Woodsboro, but now, a new killer wears the horrific Ghostface mask and is targeting a group of teenagers “to resurrect secrets from the town’s deadly past.”
The original 1996 Scream–directed by Craven and written by Williamson–raked in $173 million on a $15-million budget and gave birth to the franchise that has already earned more than $600 million worldwide.
Keep reading Horror News Network for any last-minute updates on Scream.
