New Scream 5 set photos show original franchise star Courteney Cox in wardrobe as ferocious reporter turned fiction writer Gale Weathers-Riley. Cox has starred in all of the Scream films, starting back in 1996, just after she'd finished shooting Friends season 1. She is one of only three actors who've appeared in every movie in the series, alongside Neve Campbell and her former husband, David Arquette. Arquette was the first of the trio to sign on to Scream 5 back in August, with Cox and Campbell signing on in the following weeks.
The latest entry in the slasher franchise is set to be directed by Ready or Not pair Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, following the death of Wes Craven, who helmed all four previous films, in 2015. Scream 5 is currently in production, aiming for a 2022 release, and will feature a host of new characters, played by Jack Quaid (The Boys) and Melissa Barrera (Vida, In the Heights), among others. Roger L Jackson, who provides the iconic raspy voice of Ghostface, has also confirmed that he will return and has assured fans the killer's costume won't be redesigned for the fifth outing.
Now Just Jared has released the first batch of behind-the-scenes photos from the set of Scream 5, showing Cox in wardrobe as Gale Weathers. The zoom shots show Cox wearing a red power suit and heels perfectly suited to the reporter's style. The actor is walking on-set and can be seen surrounded by crew members, all wearing masks following COVID-19 safety protocols. You can see some of the images in a tweet from Film Updates below:
For fans, it's the first look at the direction Scream 5 will be taking with Weathers. By the looks of it, her brief time settling down as a fiction writer is over, and the wardrobe hints that she's gone back to journalism. This hints that the plot may involve Weathers having left Sheriff Dewey Riley and become an on-screen reporter for a news website or a cable news network. Of course, she may still be with Arquette's character in the Scream universe, but the latter narrative seems more interesting from a conflict point of view for the character.
Of course, after surviving four movies as Weathers, Cox may well be killed off in the sequel. Many have speculated that to truly shock fans of the franchise, Sidney Prescott may be murdered in the movie's opening scene. However, killing off Weathers would be just as shocking and could leave Dewey and Sidney without a key ally in their fight against the new Ghostface. Regardless of who dies and who doesn't, Cox looks to be back as peak Weathers in Scream 5.
Source: Just Jared/Film Updates/Twitter