The Scream franchise has experienced many casting — and story line — changes, but even the most die hard fans may be surprised by what could have been for the beloved horror films.
Journalist Ashley Cullins spoke with the cast, creators and crew from all seven Scream iterations for Your Favorite Scary Movie: How the Scream Films Rewrote the Rules of Horror, highlighting behind-the-scenes insight and revelations about the making of each installment in the horror franchise.
Scream, released in 1996, focused on Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) as she faced off against numerous killers hiding their identity behind the infamous Ghostface persona. In the film, she received help from fellow OG Scream characters Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and Dewey Riley (David Arquette), which led to the creation of three sequels in 1997, 2000 and 2011.
The franchise was revived nearly a decade after Scream 4 was released, allowing Scream to introduce fans to new protagonists Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega). With changes came surprising exits, including Campbell’s decision to part ways with the franchise after filming the fifth installment due to failed salary negotiations. (She returned for the seventh movie after Ortega, 22, left due to scheduling and Barrera, 35, was fired after being vocal about her support for Palestine amid the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.)
Cullins’ tell-all featured never-before-revealed details on who else auditioned for key roles and initial ideas for Scream plot lines. Keep scrolling for the biggest surprises from Your Favorite Scary Movie — which is out now:
Who Auditioned — But Didn’t Get Cast — in ‘Scream’?
According to Your Favorite Scary Movie, Brittany Murphy and Alicia Witt were in the running for Sidney, while Natasha Lyonne and Marley Shelton auditioned for Tatum and Brooke Shields for Gale. Barrymore, who was initially meant to play Sidney, ultimately took on the role of Casey, though Alicia Silverstone was also eyed for the part. Jeremy London, James Marsden and Vince Vaughn were on the list of actors who also auditioned.
Hiding Henry Winkler’s Involvement in ‘Scream’
While Barrymore was promoted to have a larger role than she actually did, Winkler’s appearance as Principal Arthur Himbry was downplayed.
“I distanced myself a little bit because an executive from the movie company said, ‘We’re not gonna put your name on the movie. You were the fonz and that’s gonna knock the balance of the horror off. We can’t put your name on the one-sheet,” Winkler shared in the book. “Apparently, they showed the movie to the audience for tests and I got applause when I walked on the screen.”
He continued: “The same executive came to me and said, ‘Would you do press for the movie?’ I said, ‘You didn’t even put my name on the movie and now you want me to do press?’ Ah, show business. It all works out in the end. Here I am, twenty-seven years later, signing posters of Scream everywhere I go. So, I finally got my name on the one-sheet.”
Figuring Out the Killer in ‘Scream 2’
The sequel unmasked Laurie Metcalf’s Nancy Loomis as the killer, which was always the plan. But her accomplice changed a few times between Derek (Jerry O’Connell) and Hallie (Elise Neal) before Mickey (Timothy Olyphant) was chosen in the “only version of the ending ever actually written” for Scream 2.
Scrapping Plans for ‘Scream 3’
“We had a really cool idea of what the third movie should be, and we were really excited about the concept. Then Columbine happened. That basically threw out the general idea of what Scream 3 was going to be,” producer Julie Plec revealed, describing how the 1999 Columbine High School massacre influenced the film.
Was Dewey Ever Meant to Be the Killer?
Arquette’s fan-favorite character was involved in taking down Ghostface for five movies before his brutal death. But according to Your Favorite Scary Movie, Dewey being involved in all things Ghostface wasn’t always off the table.
“David, my assistant, wrote a decoy script where Dewey was the killer,” Williamson teased. “I sent it to a friend of mine who had a Halloween blog, or something, and he leaked it in some other state. So, it looked legit. We thought if that one leaks first, then if the real one does leak no one’s gonna care. So, that one got leaked by design and it has created this folklore that Dewey was the killer. Well, in one version he was, but not in the version we were filming.”
Being Conflicted on Who Would Play Jill in ‘Scream 4’
Scream 4 coproducer Carly Feingold said it was “the hardest to cast” Jill, because the creative team found themselves conflicted between Emma Roberts and Hayden Panettiere. It was ultimately decided that Panettiere would portray Kirby instead “to bring her back” after the actress’ contract “specified that her character couldn’t die.”
Speaking of Jill, Sidney’s niece-turned-murderous-killer was meant to survive as well. She would have become a celebrity victim while in college in Scream 5.
“Everyone wants to be her friend, and then someone has figured her out,” Williamson noted. “Someone knows she killed all those people in Woodsboro and that she got away with it. So, in a weird way it’s killer against killer and Ghostface starts killing all of her new friends.”
Williamson’s initial plan was to wrap up the movie at the house where Sidney and Jill both survived. Feingold, meanwhile, pointed out that the hospital scene didn’t shut down the idea that Jill was still alive.
“If you watch it very, very, very closely her eye does twitch at the end,” Feingold shared. “She looks dead, but there is a little twitch, and that was on purpose so it can be ambiguous if they needed her to survive for the next one.”
The horror genre hasn’t been the same since Ghostface asked Drew Barrymore that question in 1996. Three sequels and one TV spinoff later, the Scream franchise isn’t going anywhere. The first Scream film debuted in December, a month usually reserved for awards contenders and family-friendly holiday fare. Even so, it became a runaway hit, and […]
Who Else Read for Richie Before ‘Scream 5’?
Jack Quaid brought Richie to life in the fifth film — but Kyle Gallner was also a contender before being cast as Stu’s nephew, Vince.
David Arquette’s Feedback for Dewey’s Arc in ‘Scream 5’
After reprising his role in the fifth film, Arquette expressed concern that there was too much focus on Dewey’s excessive drinking. The detail was later “dialed” back, and Heather Matarazzo recalled making changes to her own dialogue when it took a jab at Dewey’s struggles.
What Was the Original Vision for ‘Scream 6’?
Before Campbell (briefly) left the franchise, Scream 6 was meant to end the trilogy with a focus on Sidney and her love story.
What Secrets Are There to Know About Scream’s Iconic Scenes?
Scream 2 featured a tense scene where Sidney and Hallie are stuck in the back of a crashed squad car hijacked by Ghostface. They had to crawl over the killer, a scene originally written for Sarah Michelle Gellar‘s character in I Know What You Did Last Summer before it was repurposed for Scream.
What Lines Got Cut — Or Nearly Did?
McGowan, who played Tatum, mentioned a line she delivered about a Hollywood urban legend from the ’80s about Richard Gere and a gerbil. While an agent allegedly asked to take the line out, the Scream creatives refused.
“The other line they thought might create a stir was when Tatum is talking about renting All the Right Moves starring Tom Cruise and says, ‘You know, if you pause it just right, you can see his penis,’” the novel noted. “There has been gossip over the years that Cruise had the scene edited after that, but at least when it comes to the widescreen DVD from 2001 and the Apple TV+ rental in December 2023, it’s still there.”
