Summary
Scream 7will begin filming in December 2024, after it was pushed back from an initial start date in September. The filming was due to run for four months, which is quite a long time for a horror movie. This has led to speculation that the plan was tofilmScream 7and its potential sequel back to back.There haven’t been any official announcements thatScream 8has been given the go ahead, but the success of the previous two sequels suggests it’s inevitable that another sequel will happen afterScream 7.
Rumors have circulated thatScream 7could be the start of a brand-new trilogy focusing on Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott, in a similar vein to theHalloweenreboot trilogy. If this is the plan, it would make sense to filmScream 7andScream 8back to back, while Neve Campbell and Kevin WIlliamson’s schedules align with each other. However, with all the changes to the direction of the franchise afterMelissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega’s exits, Paramount and Spyglass Media might wait to see how wellScream 7does at the box office before a sequel is announced.
Filming Scream 7 & 8 Back-To-Back Makes Sense
The originalScream 7filming windowwas set between September through December 2024. However, Neve Campbell confirmed that there had been somedelays toScream 7’s filming schedule, and it is now scheduled to begin in December of this year. However, this doesn’t change the duration of filming. With the new schedule, the film’s production likely to now run until April 2025. Considering thatScream 6’s production took just nine weeks to complete,it has raised questions as to whyScream 7’s filming schedule is nearly double that length of time.
YouTube content creatorCRAVEN Something Scary recently hosted a live stream, where he posed a theory about whyScream 7’s filming schedule could be so long. Many fans believe that his reasoning makes a lot of sense:
What if they are pulling a double double and, for four months of filming, you have two blocks of filming time for a feature. What if they are doing two movies at one time, and we are gettingScream 7with a massive cliffhanger ending, which will be like part one, then a year later we getScream 8, and it was already filmed.
The back-to-back filming of sequels has worked well in the past with franchises likeBack To The Future, Pirates of the CaribbeanandThe Matrix.This model of filmmaking allows for successive movies to be released in quick succession, so that audiences don’t have to wait for the next installment and potentially lose interest. The horror genre has largely stayed away from this particular model in the past, but this all changed recently with Rene Harlin’sThe Strangersreboot trilogy. For this project, Harlin filmed all three entries in the trilogy back to back.The Strangers: Chapter 1arrived in theaters in May 2024, and Chapter 2 is set for release later this year. Finally, Chapter 3 is set to arrive in early 2025.
Considering this,there is every chance thatScream 7andScream 8will be filmed back to back between December 2024 and April 2025.If this is the case, audiences will likely see quick succession release dates for both entries, likely starting withScream 7in late 2025.
Back-To-Back Filming Could Avoid A Long Wait Between Movies
Kevin Williamson’s planswere forScream 4to be the start of a new trilogy, and he had already outlined a plan for the next two sequels. However, the third sequel’s dismal box office takings led to this idea being scrapped. Similarly, rumors suggestScream 7could be the first of a planned trilogy.But if it isn’t filmed back-to-back with the next sequel, fans might be waiting ages for the next installment ifScream 7doesn’t do as well as expected. CRAVEN Something Scary alluded to this later on in his live stream:
We don’t want to have a cliffhanger ending, and then we don’t get another movie for 10 years.
This is a valid point, and a fear of many Scream fans, after the gap of over 10 years betweenScream 4and Radio Silence’sScream (2022).Scream 4has aged very well, so it was a shame that fans never got to see a direct follow-up to it.Scream 7could ignoreScream (2022)andScream 6, paving the way for a more direct sequel toScream 4which will please many legacy fans.
It would be a great idea to use the huge four-month filming schedule forScream 7, to get Scream 8 in the can as well, so fans don’t have to worry about it not happening at all. If Kevin Williamson’s sequel decides to have a cliffhanger ending that seesGhostface surviving to change the format, it would be devastating ifScream 8didn’t follow it soon after.
