Due to the extended COVID-19 pandemic and the rise of the omicron variant, the red carpet premiere for the upcoming Scream film has officially been canceled. The red carpet premiere was originally scheduled for Tuesday, January 11, 2022. Deadline has reported that the Scream 5 premiere has been canceled due to safety concerns regarding the COVID-19 pandemic, and the rising number of cases. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett were originally set to appear on the red carpet, as well as Scream's returning stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette.
Unfortunately, the cancelation of the Scream red carpet premiere is far from the first event to be affected by the recent coronavirus surge. HBO Max had recently canceled its Peacemaker premiere in an abundance of caution, while Hulu canceled its premiere for its How I Met Your Mother spinoff, How I Met Your Father. There are also other productions, such as the Disney+ Star Wars show, The Book of Boba Fett, which had postponed its red carpet premiere. Additionally, this year's Sundance Film Festival has been forced to move online due to the ongoing pandemic, as well as the indefinite postponement of the 2022 Grammy Awards.
It has been confirmed that the press and radio-promoted screenings for the upcoming horror slasher film will still proceed on the big screen as planned. Neve Campbell recently spoke openly about her hesitance to return for the fifth film, but apparently a letter written from the directors ended up sealing the deal. “They actually wrote me a letter and they said they basically are directors because of [the Scream] films,” Campbell told Variety. “They are directors because of Wes Craven and they’re really so excited to be a part of these films and what an honor it is to do them, and that they really want to do justice to Wes and honor his legacy.”
Will the Release Date for Scream Be Delayed Again Due to the Nationwide COVID Surge?
Despite all of the recent delays and cancellations being decided by multiple production companies, the latest installment in the Scream franchise is still on track for its theatrical release date. In the upcoming horror film, Scream fans will return to the traumatized community of Woodsboro 25 years after a series of grisly murders inspired four sequels. Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette all will reprise their original roles, alongside several newcomers such as Melissa Barrera, Kyle Gallner, Mason Gooding, Mikey Madison, Dylan Minnette, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Marley Shelton, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Sonia Ammar. Original writer Kevin Williamson, Chad Villella, Gary Barber, Peter Oillataguerre, Ron Lynch, Cathy Konrad and Marianne Maddalena are executive producers, with Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett aka Radio Silence directing.
Scream, unofficially referred to by some as Scream 5, is a direct sequel to Scream 4 (released in 2011), and is also the first in the series to not be directed by the legendary Wes Craven, who passed away back in 2015. Filming mostly took place in Wilmington, North Carolina between the months of September to November 2020. The official synopsis for the upcoming film reads as: "Twenty-five years after a streak of brutal murders shocked the quiet town of Woodsboro, a new killer has donned the Ghostface mask and begins targeting a group of teenagers to resurrect secrets from the town's deadly past."
Scream is currently scheduled to be released on January 14, 2022, by Paramount Pictures.