The new Scream sequel that was released earlier this year is already streaming on Paramount Plus, and if you don’t subscribe to that service there are also several other options to get your hands on a copy… Which you should do before you read the rest of this article, because we’re going into SPOILER territory.
Now that you’ve watched the new Scream, or at least read up on spoilers, you know that it was the last film for David Arquette’s character Dewey Riley, who has been around since the start of the franchise. It has looked like Dewey was killed in previous movies, but this time they really did knock him off. Speaking with Empire, Arquette revealed that he wasn’t warned about Dewey’s fate before he was given the script. And it doesn’t sound like he was very happy with the fact that the character was killed.
Calling his character’s death “a fresh wound”, Arquette said,
They had not given me a heads-up, so I was like [mimes thumbing through the script], ‘Wow, Dewey’s got some good stuff to play this time!’ And then, ‘Oh, that’s why!’ I had to put it down, I had to walk around and kind of process it. I understood where they were coming from, as far as gutting their audience. It was hard. It’s been such an ongoing film series throughout my life, 25 years of my life, so it definitely cut deep.”
On the day he had to film Dewey’s death scene, he
got up, cooked myself some breakfast, and then I went to work and did the scene. I didn’t know exactly what was going to happen. We amped up the fight scene a little because I’m a professional wrestler. We made it a little more intense. If you have a lot of action, you’re going to get banged up a little, and if you have blood on you, the longer it goes it’s just kind of sticky and uncomfortable. So you’ve got to get into a Zen place, so you’re not angry. And I was angry anyway. So I just had to get into a real Zen place, just breathe through and know that this will be over soon. But it was emotional. I did it, and I hopped in my car, drove home, washed all the blood off, and that was it. I packed up a few things and then hit the road.”
Arquette described Wes Craven, the director of the previous Scream movies, as “an angel” to him for keeping Dewey alive through four movies. He then jokingly said the new film’s directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are “Ghostfaces” for killing him off. Then he shifted the blame to the writers:
I take it back! Jamie [Vanderbilt] and Guy [Busick], you’re Ghostfaces!”
This year’s Scream has the following synopsis:
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.
You can read our set visit interview with the directors at THIS LINK, and our set visit interview with cast members HERE.
The movie was such a financial success that a sequel is already in the works and heading toward a March 31, 2023 theatrical release.
What did you think of the fact that Dewey was killed off in the new Scream? I definitely wasn’t happy about it. Share your thoughts by leaving a comment below.