Another “Scream” movie became inevitable after “Scream VI” had the horror franchise’s best opening weekend earlier this year, eventually becoming its highest-grossing film. Not bad for a series that horror fans considered as good as dead before its “reimagining” in 2022. But THR reports that Spyglass has someone else in mind to direct other than the Radio Silence team, who helmed the past two films. Instead, they’ll turn to Christopher Landon, who made his bones in the horror genre working in the house Jason Blum built.
And Landon’s horror credential speak for themselves. At Blumhouse, he wrote and directed the “Happy Death Day” movies as well as 2021’s “Freaky.” He also directed 2015’s “Scouts Guide To The Zombie Apocalypse.” Other writing credits for Landon include 2009’s “Disturbia” and five entries in the “Paranormal Activity” franchise. So, yeah, this guy knows his horror. Landon’s latest film was the family horror movie “We Have A Ghost” for Netflix, starring David Harbor, Anthony Mackie, and Jahi Winston.
So why will Landon take over the “Scream” franchise from Radio Silence after how well the past two films have gone? Well, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, and Chad Villella, have another horror project, a creature feature, in development over at Universal, which has them tied up. However, they’re still on board “Scream 7” as executive producers. It remains unclear if James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick will return to pen the script for “Scream 7,” though. They co-wrote the last two movies together, but Spyglass may hand the screenwriting reins to Landon, given his previous work. Don’t expect an answer to that question until the WGA writers strike ends.
But expect Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, and Mason Gooding to return to the lead the cast of “Scream 7.” The new generation of “Scream” stars has done very well financially, with “Scream” boasting a $137.7 million gross worldwide alongside $168.9 million for “Scream VI.” Thanks to the new “Scream” films, Ti West‘s “X,” and the Netflix series “Wednesday,” Jenna Ortega is Hollywood’s new scream queen. But her starring role in Tim Burton‘s upcoming “Beetlejuice 2” will also cement her status as an A-lister, which will means Spyglass will need to dole out more money to cast her this time around.
But given the success of the franchise’s past two films, that likely won’t be an issue. After all, the “Scream” series is the most lucrative it’s ever been, despite Wes Craven‘s 1996 original being far superior to any other film in the series. “Scream 7” is in good hands with Landon, though.