A few days before Halloween feels like the perfect moment for this update: that new Scary Movie entry, teased at CinemaCon earlier this year, is officially moving full steam ahead. Even better, the Wayans Brothers, who made the first two Scary Movie horror comedies but were absent for parts three through five, are back for the reboot.
This news comes from Deadline, which notes the sixth Scary Movie will be a theatrical release through Miramax and Paramount and will start filming next year.
Marlon, Shawn, and Keenan Ivory Wayans—the latter directed the first two Scary Movies; the former both co-wrote and co-starred—told the trade, “We couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the new Scary Movie and work with each other again. This is a franchise we created more than 20 years ago. We remember people laughing in the aisles and hope to see that happen again. We look forward to working with Jonathan Glickman and his team at the new Miramax to bring these laughs to theaters, where they belong. It’s a double reunion.”
The most recent Scary Movie was released in 2013; it was a box-office disappointment after an established track record of hits. The 2000 original, which parodied the then-newly popular Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer slasher franchises, is still the top-grosser at over $278 million. Scary Movie 2 followed in 2001, skewering The Exorcist and House on Haunted Hill; Scary Movie 3, an oft-cited fan favorite, took on The Ring and Signs (with a dash of 8 Mile, too). Part four had more M. Night Shyamalan (The Village) and Japanese horror (The Grudge) to mock, along with Saw; part five’s diminishing returns took on Mama, Paranormal Activity, and Black Swan.
So far there’s no word on what the new Scary Movie might skewer, but if you look at the past decade-plus of horror releases, there’s so much for the Wayans to riff on, including The Conjuring films, the entire scope of “elevated horror” (Get Out, Hereditary, The Witch), tech terrors (M3GAN is already campy, but imagine a Scary Movie version of her!), the new Universal Monster movies, and maybe even the meta idea of reboots and legacy sequels (The Exorcist, Halloween, Beetlejuice Beetlejuice). In particular, Scream and I Know What You Do Last Summer are active franchises again, so Scary Movie would also have good reason to check in with some old favorites.
There’s also no word on who might star in Scary Movie part six, other than (presumably) the Wayans—but we’d love to see an Anna Faris-Regina Hall reunion as part of this new project. (Earlier this year, Faris said she was open to the idea).
What do you think: is the world finally ready for more Scary Movie? Let us know below.
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