As a wise Wayans once said, "Watching TV shows doesn't create psycho killers — cancelling TV shows does!" So perhaps it's the recent epidemic of streamers swinging the axe that's responsible for today's announcement that the Wayans brothers — Marlon, Keenan Ivory, and Shawn — are returning to their iconic Scary Movie horror parody franchise after 18 years away. Per Deadline's reporting, the brothers are working with Rick Alvarez on a script for the slasher series' sixth instalment — and Marlon Wayans took to Instagram earlier to celebrate the exciting news. Check out his post below:
Originally conceived as a send up of turn-of-the-millennium era slashers like Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer (both of which have been — or soon will be — rebooted in recent years), the Wayans' _Scary Movie_s spanned five films across the noughties and early 2010s, with the brothers having long since departed by the time Scary Movie 5 seemingly killed the franchise off back in 2013. But now the series' creators are back together and tinkering away at an original screenplay, and whilst we don't know who'll star or at which movies this latest Scary Movie will take aim, in an era of elevated horror and plentiful reboots there's no shortage of cannon fodder for the Wayans' crass brand of cinematic lols.
"We couldn’t be more excited to be a part of the new Scary Movie and work with each other again," said the Wayans' in a statement to Deadline. "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.”
Shooting on the new Scary Movie from Miramax and Paramount is scheduled to get underway next year, with plans for a theatrical release to follow in due course — so don't be surprised if this one ends up hitting our screens around the same time as Kevin Williamson's Scream 7 lands in early 2026. Speaking of which, whilst we're loathe to speculate on casting for the Scary Movie reboot, we'd be lying if we said we don't have everything crossed that the Wayans find a way to smuggle Melissa Barrera into their grand comeback. Wouldn't that just be killer?