We've gone back and forth on this new Scream movie for months now while we awaited official confirmation on just who will be directing, which original franchise actors would be returning and when all of it would be arriving in theaters. Finally, Variety reports that Wes Craven (who directed the original) will return to helm Scream 4, which has just locked down a release date of April 15th, 2011.
Officially returning to the series will be Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courtney Cox-Arquette, though they'll be joined by a whole batch of newbies who haven't been cast yet. The idea (from what we've gathered) is that the older players will toss the franchise to a group of hot, young, scared teenagers, who will then help re-launch another Scream trilogy that hopefully will provide a more satisfying ending than the original trilogy.
The good news here is that both original writer Kevin Williamson and original director Wes Craven are returning for at least the first movie, which means Williamson's script has to be halfway decent. And there's no reason why it shouldn't be – in the decade or so since the last Scream movie, there's been a ton of new horror conventions and technology that the new cast can play around with. For example, I'll be curious to see them incorporate the internet or social networking more into the films. (Plus how much you wanna bet Campbell gets knocked off in the opening scene, a la Drew Barrymore in the original?)
What else would you like to see from a Scream 4? What could they add to this franchise that we haven't already seen?
