Scream stars received fake scripts, so they don’t even know who Ghostface killer is this time

How do you keep the stars of your movie from spoiling the big twist ending? Don’t let the know which one is real. It’s hard to accidentally reveal the surprise killer when everyone thinks it’s somebody different, right?

William Sherak, a producer on the upcoming fifth Scream film, simply titled Scream, opened up to Cinema Blend about the process of keeping the long-awaited revival from being spoiled by detail-hungry horror fans. Sherak says they effectively seeded alternate versions of the script among the cast, so even if they do compare notes, no one will be sure which scenes are real or planted in the draft — so they’ll apparently just have to wait until they’re in front of the camera to find out who’s really pulling the butcher knife this time around.

“I think the two things to remember for us. One is there are multiple versions of the draft out there and most of the cast don’t know if they have the right version or not,” he told Cinema Blend. “So we’ve been playing that game with them as well. And the fun of a Scream movie is that everyone is guilty until proven innocent, not the other way around. So the goal is to keep that going for as long as possible and have fun with it.”

It’s one of the oldest tricks in the book, sure, but folks keep using the ol’ fake scripts for a good reason — they work. Considering how much the killer twist is a penchant of the Scream franchise, it’s encouraging to hear the creative team is just as committed to the gimmick for the fifth time around the block.

Little is known about the plot, though we’d guess it’ll subvert some horror tropes and feature plenty of blood and meta-horror commentary along the way. Scream will feature a who’s who of returning stars, including OG horror favorites like Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox and David Arquette all back in the franchise saddle. They’re joined by newcomers like Jack Quaid (The Boys), Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Dylan Minnette, Mason Gooding, and Kyle Gallner. The project is being directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the duo behind the absolutely fantastic and genre-busting horror flick Ready or Not.

Scream is slated to open January 14, 2022.