Fake scripts with dummy endings is not a new trick in Hollywood, nor in the Scream franchise, which is known for having big twist endings. In fact, the production team for the new Scream movie (infuriatingly, just called Scream) led by Ready or Not directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, confirmed that they handed out several fake versions of the script to the cast during filming to keep the movie’s ending a secret. But it appears the Scream team is going above and beyond to kill any potential spoilers, with multiple versions of not only the script, but of the complete edited film now floating around.
Bloody Disgusting reports that there are multiple versions of the Scream screenplay as well as the movie, in order to avoid spoilers for the real final product.
It’s not uncommon for a production team to create multiple scripts to keep cast members in the dark — Scream has done it multiple times in the past with the productions of previous sequels, and that tactic has notably used by Marvel Studios for films like Avengers: Infinity War and Avengers: Endgame, which were shot back-to-back. But to go above and beyond to actually create multiple edits is pretty unusual. It likely doesn’t mean that there is trouble behind-the-scenes — this doesn’t appear to be a director’s vision pitted against the studio’s vision — but that the Scream team are going the extra mile to protect the movie from being spoiled. If there are multiple edits for Scream, it’s also possible that multiple versions are being shown to focus groups to see which one plays best. Or there is a real fear of the real ending being leaked, like when a Scream 2 draft from writer Kevin Williamson was famously leaked online, forcing last-minute rewrites to change the movie’s ending.
The killer changes in every Scream film: the identity of Ghostface has been adopted by several characters to go on their bloody killing sprees. The only commonality each Ghostface shares is the desire to kill poor Syndey Prescott (Neve Campbell, returning to the franchise after nine years). Which means it could be any of the returning cast members, which include David Arquette and Courteney Cox, or franchise newcomers Jack Quaid, Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Dylan Minnette, Mason Gooding, Kyle Gallner, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mikey Madison, and Sonia Ben Ammar. Major plot details haven’t been revealed for Scream, which is billed as a “fresh and nostalgic” soft reboot for the franchise created by Wes Craven.
Scream is set to debut in theaters on January 14, 2022.
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