Warning: This post contains spoilers for Scream 2022
The directors of the new Scream 2022 filmed an alternate ending where one of the key characters survived. 2022's Scream is directed by Ready or Not's Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the first to helm the franchise outside of the late Wes Craven, who directed the first four films. The new film features three of the main legacy character,s including Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott, Courteney Cox's Gale Weathers, and David Arquette's Dewey Riley, along with a host of new actors to the franchise, including Melissa Barrera, Jack Quaid, Mikey Madison, Jenna Ortega, Dylan Minnette, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Mason Gooding.
Scream 2022 finds a resurgence of Ghostface killings in the fictional town of Woodsboro, bringing back the original characters to help defeat the new threat that's spreading through a new group of teens. Arquette's Dewey is now retired but agrees to help the kids who are now affected by the murders, but ends up paying the ultimate sacrifice as a result. While trying to protect Tara (Ortega), Dewey is stabbed and killed, leaving only two Scream legacy characters standing by the time the credits roll.
Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin revealed to Variety that the plan was always to kill off Dewey in Scream 2022, but that there was never a plan to take out Sidney or Gale. However, Dewey's demise was fiercely debated, as the studio had second thoughts about his death into production, asking the directors to film an alternate version where he survived. They obliged the request, but did so in a way that was never really usable. "Just to describe the shot, it was an over-the-shoulder from behind Gale and Sid of a doctor’s legs. It was absolutely not really a usable shot. ‘Shot’ is very generous,” said Bettinelli-Olpin. The shot would've had Dewey recovering from surgery after his grisly attack, with Gillett explaining the situation as such:
“We very begrudgingly got one shot that you could put some voiceover over, like, ‘He woke up from surgery, he’s gonna be fine,' With no intention of ever f*cking using it.”
While Arquette may now be out of the Scream business, the actor has plenty of projects lined up to keep himself busy. The actor will next be seen in the drama On Sacred Ground, the time-travel western The Boardinghouse Reach, and the comedy The Storied Life of A.J. Fikry. Arquette's forthcoming work is in the horror-western Ghosts of the Ozarks, which finds him battling supernatural forces in post-Civil War Arkansas.
Craven, the former Scream franchise director, was known for filming alternate takes for different scenes in the series, just in case they wanted to change things up once they got into editing. While the script may dictate a certain outcome, it makes sense for a series like Scream, with all its twists and turns, to give some late-in-the-game options once editing is underway. For Scream 2022, it seems like the directors were confident in taking Dewey off the board, but with him being such a beloved franchise character, it makes sense that the studio would get cold feet over his loss.
Source: Variety