Spyglass is answering the call once more, throwing a new Scream horror movie into development.
The company has tapped Christopher Landon, a scary movie stalwart whose credits include the Happy Death Day movies as well as body-switching horror-comedy Freaky, to direct the seventh installment of the long-running franchise, multiple sources tell The Hollywood Reporter.
Landon takes over from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the filmmaking team known as Radio Silence, who helmed the 2022 installment that rebooted and refurbished the movie series. The duo followed that movie, simply titled Scream, with Scream VI, which was released in March.
Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett stepped back, in part, to focus on an original horror movie for Universal, which currently remains impacted by the actors strike strike. The duo, as well as third group member Chad Villella, will now act as executive producers.
The two recent movies, distributed by Paramount, scared up $137.7 million and $168.9 million worldwide, respectively, and introduced a fresher-faced cast to the bloody proceedings, among them Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera and Mason Gooding. Sources say the actors do not have deals for a new installment but are expected to return once the dual writer and actor strikes are settled. Ortega’s deal will be one to watch, as the actress signed on to the franchise before she was catapulted to the A-list thanks to Netflix’s Wednesday.
Also unclear is who will be writing Scream 7. James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick wrote the scripts for the two recent movies, however Landon is also an established screenwriter. He wrote his directorial efforts, Freaky and Happy Death Day 2U and last year’s We Have a Ghost, and co-wrote numerous Paranormal Activity films. The script aspect won’t come into focus until the writers strike ends.
It is also expected that Paramount will return as distributor.
Wes Craven directed the first four Scream movies, with Kevin Williamson penning the original released in 1996, creating a dominant horror movie series that winkingly serves up meta commentary alongside scares. It centered on the hunt for a killer (or killers) in a black sheet and white mask named Ghostface.
Landon’s most recent movie was We Have a Ghost, which starred David Harbour and Jahi Winston, and debuted on Netflix in February.
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