The ‘Scary Movie’ franchise is being revived.
Paramount Pictures announced that a sixth instalment in the horror parody franchise is in development at CinemaCon on Thursday.
Neal H. Moritz – known for his work on the ‘Sonic the Hedgehog’ and ‘Fast and Furious films – will be producing the new picture, but it is not known if cast regulars, including Anna Faris and Regina Hall, are to return.
The series was developed by Keenen Ivory Wayans, Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans, with the latter pair starring in the first two films.
The original ‘Scary Movie’ hit cinemas in 2000 and parodied horror flicks including ‘Scream’ and ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’. Four sequels would follow that poked fun at the likes of ‘Saw’ and ‘The Ring’.
Interest in the franchise had declined by the time ‘Scary Movie 5’ – which did not feature either Faris or Hall – was released in 2013, and poor box office returns put the films on hiatus.
The Wayans family was not involved from the third movie onwards, and Marlon claims that it was “snatched” away from them by The Weinstein Company, led by the disgraced movie mogul Harvey Weinstein.
Speaking to Kevin Hart on the Comedy Gold Minds podcast, the 51-year-old actor said: “We didn’t walk away from a franchise. They didn’t want to make our deal, and they snatched it.
“We never walked away from our franchise. It was taken, and us, being the creatives that we are, were like, ‘Alright, bet.’ Now watch what I create.”
Marlon also recalled that the family only became aware that they would no longer be involved after they read a news article at Christmas time.
He said: “The second one they rushed us into, and by the third one, they didn’t want to pay the money, so they snatched it. We found out on Christmas that they hired somebody else to go do it.”
