The writers behind Scream 2022 came up with a number of fake endings for the film in honor of both Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson. Fans are finally returning to the tormented town of Woodsboro after more than a decade since the release of the last Scream installment. Scream sees Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette back in the legacy roles that they first originated 25 years ago. The 1996 release of Wes Craven's Scream saw the horror-comedy immediately rise to cult status, as many admired its satirical take on the horror genre, while still giving audiences a good scare.
As with all of the Scream films, the residents of Woodsboro must face their fears as a new age Ghostface killer kicks off a fresh round of horrific killings. Scream sees Sidney Prescott (Campbell), Gale Weathers (Cox), and Dewey Riley (Arquette) as they attempt to take down the murderous phantom that has haunted them throughout their lives. Much of the pull behind the Scream franchise comes from its unique spin on the whodunnit trope and Scream is no exception, with much of the film's marketing playing on this idea of Ghostface disguising themselves as "someone you know," with the killer's true identity acting as the film's big third-act reveal.
Now, one of the film's writers, James Vanderbilt, has revealed that part of the process behind the creation of Scream 2022 involved writing a number of fake endings, which they felt ultimately honored Craven's legacy. Speaking exclusively to Screen Rant, Vanderbilt was asked about any potential alternate endings for Scream, given the high-profile status of the franchise and therefore the possibility of leaks. The Spider-Man writer confirmed that there were in fact alternate endings written for this fifth installment and that in doing so, the team felt as though they were paying homage to both Craven, and Williamson. Check out Vanderbilt's full quote below.
We did. We actually felt like it was part of the fun of making a Scream movie, is writing fake endings. It's sort of the honor. It's what Kevin [Williamson] did, and we wanted to honor Kevin and Wes [Craven].
One of the franchise's newest stars, Jack Quaid recently revealed that in the early stages of shooting, he and his co-stars were actually given different scripts that ultimately kept them all on their toes with regards to which kills and reveals would actually make the final cut. Throughout the run-up to Scream's release, Craven's impact on the franchise as a whole has been referenced by many of those involved with the film's production. Craven directed each of the previous four Scream films before his passing in 2015, and the films' main star, Campbell even recently opened up about her initial apprehension towards working on this new film without him.
While the contents of these fake scripts will likely be kept under wraps until the film has at least completed its theatrical run, it's certainly fun to imagine the sort of alternate outcomes that may have been fabricated in order to keep both fans and the cast off of Ghostface's scent. Vanderbilt's comments only further confirm that a key focus when it came to the creation of Scream was honoring the legacy that Craven and Williamson established more than 25 years ago. So far, reactions to Scream have been overwhelmingly positive, so it seems as though Vanderbilt and his team certainly hit the mark when it came to choosing the right ending for this latest installment.