Following the success of Scream in cinemas last month, it was inevitable that a further sequel would be coming down the line. Now Paramount and Spyglass Media have made the official announcement that Scream 6 is going into production and will be filming this summer, which would likely lead to a 2023 release. Having made its debut in 1996, the Scream franchise has seen four sequels and an “in name only” TV series make their way to screens, but this year’s Scream was the first movie without director Wes Craven and that initially caused some worries. However, now that Scream has proven a box office hit, it is full steam ahead on the next movie in the franchise.

The fifth installment of the series reverted to the title of Scream and picked up the story a decade on from the events of Scream 4. Once again, someone in a Ghostface mask is committing murders, and that leads to the return of original franchise stars David Arquette, Courteney Cox and Neve Campbell as Dewey, Gale, and Sidney respectively, who attempt to end the killings for good. However, now we know that a new sequel is coming, it looks like that didn’t quite work out as planned for the residents of Woodsboro.

In a joint statement, Paramount and Spyglass revealed that the sixth movie in the Scream franchise is officially going ahead and will once again be developed by the same team as this year’s hit. They said:

“We are tremendously grateful to the fans around the world who enthusiastically received our film. We can’t wait for audiences to see what Radio Silence, writers Jamie & Guy and Project X have in store for our Woodsboro family."

Scream Was Set Up as a Launchpad for More Films in the Franchise From the Start

The cast of Scream 5
Paramount Pictures

Even before hitting theaters in January, Scream was seen by many as more than a simple sequel, but was instead always planned as a relaunch of the franchise with every intention of following it up with more movies. During promotional interviews, the original franchise stars were keen to make it clear that they were not just happy to be back for the fifth movie but also would be up for another return in the future. Neve Campbell even went as far as to say she would definitely be back in another film if the script interested her.

The writers of Scream previously said that they did not write the movie with sequels in mind, but the film still left the way clear for its new characters to return in another movie. With the latest film’s success with audiences and critics alike, and having managed to make more money than Scream 4, there was never a doubt that Paramount would look to build on their investment, and considering the lost revenue of the last two years, it is not surprising that they want to get the project moving immediately while public demand is still strong for more Scream.