A newly released image from 2022's Scream contains an Easter egg related to Wes Craven. The fifth installment of the slasher franchise is slated to hit theaters in January 2022, and there has been plenty of fresh content to keep fans guessing. Unlike many other references in the Scream trailer, this one is dedicated solely to the director himself.
1996's Scream is lauded for its fresh, meta approach to the slasher genre and its subversion of classic horror tropes. Judging by the trailer, 2022's Scream seems to follow the same plot as the original, albeit with a new generation of teen victims. Each Scream movie features Sidney Prescott and her various encounters with Ghostface, played by multiple people throughout the franchise. Years later, the fifth film pits Ghostface against family members of past iterations of the famous killer.
Thanks to a post from Bloody Disgusting's John Squires on Twitter, eagle-eyed fans may recognize Wes Craven's white fedora hanging in the top left corner of the exclusive image from Total Film magazine. The hat in the image seems to be a nod to the Tweet announcing Craven's death back in 2015, which has a photo of the famed Scream director wearing the same fedora. It's a poignant tribute to Craven, who directed the first four Scream films and a slew of other genre classics, including the A Nightmare on Elm Street franchise and The People Under the Stairs. Scream would not have been what it was without Craven's vision. Additionally, the white fedora bears a resemblance to Freddy Krueger's iconic brown hat, which Craven wears in a cameo as a janitor in the first Scream.
The Scream franchise is known for its commentary on horror in general, and based on 2022's Scream trailer, it seems likely the fifth installment will provide its own discourse on the genre. Scream contains several obscure and overt references to past horror films, like Halloween, Psycho, and When a Stranger Calls and capitalizes on the absurdity of those cliches. Returning characters like Courtney Cox's Gale Weathers and David Arquette's Dewey, who could also be considered Easter eggs, may help usher in the new generation while still preserving the legacy of Craven's original.
It'll be interesting to see how directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett reinvent the franchise, provide their take on Scream, and include any more Wes Craven-targeted Easter eggs. The trailer hints at a darker tone for the Scream series and higher stakes for the characters involved. It may be difficult to match the self-referential success Wes Craven achieved with the original, but with the number of nods spotted in new images and trailers, 2022's Scream may at the very least be an enjoyable nostalgia trip.
