Why Scream 7 Has A New Director and What It Means for the Franchise
After the massive success of Scream V and 6, Radio Silence won’t be back to direct Scream 7- the next installment featuring the infamous Ghostface, and Cristopher Landon shares his insights on the decision.
Radio Silence is composed of the directing duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who made their franchise debut with 2022’s Scream, which garnered largely positive reviews from critics and audiences.
With Scream 6 also being piped as one of the best installments of the horror franchise, a seventh installment looked all but confirmed. However, the makers shocked the fans when they declared that Landon would take the director’s chair in Scream 7.
During an appearance on SiriusXM’s The Jess Cagle Show, Christopher Landon opens up about this directorial debacle of Scream 7.
Besides disclosing spicy details about his time as an intern at Miramax and being among the first to read the franchise’s original script, he reveals why Radio Silence is not at the helm of Scream 7. Read his comments below:
It came out of the blue for me. My understanding is that there were conversations happening for some time. But I think it was just an opportunity that really arose because the other directors who did the last two films, Tyler and Matt, they wanted to do something else. They were ready to kind of do something different. That’s when they ob6ously had to find someone new. And I’ve known Ken Williamson, who wrote the original film for a long, long time and he’s a friend. And you know, I think he threw my name into the hat and everybody kind of said, “Yeah, that makes sense. That seems to make sense.” And I was just thrilled that I got that call ’cause it felt very, um, it felt like kismet, it felt like a thing that like was always meant to be.
However, Christopher Landon is no slouch at crafting horror films. He has already been at the helm of masterpieces like Happy Death Day and Freaky, and his filmography career gives us confidence that Scream 7 will be able to match its predecessors.
The announcement of Landon taking over from Radio Silence received positive reactions from the fans. This is because of his exceptional ability to blend Wes Craven’s self-aware comedy style with the horror world’s thrills and kills.
Unlike Radio Silence’s darker style, Landon’s movies are known for their twisted humor. His 2020 work Freaky was the perfect concoction of dark horror and comedy, with Vince Vaughn playing a shy teen girl trapped in a bloodthirsty serial killer’s body.
The movie has more gory scenes than the entire Scream series combined. For instance, Freaky has a scene where Alan Ruck’s woodshop teacher gets sliced in half with a table saw. Now, that’s Saw franchise or Wrong Turn territory of gore.
With Landon’s comedy being more situational than meta, his hiring steers the Scream franchise in a new direction for sure!
Besides bringing back old characters, Landon has another way to spice up the franchise’s formula in Scream 7, i.e., his distinctive directing style.
Unlike Radio Silence, who used a more handheld approach to create suspense in many scenes, such as the unforgettable bodega scene in Scream 6, Landon has a more stylistic flair in his movies.
Hopefully, he will blend Radio Silence’s and Craven’s original visual language, creating a fresh and unique feel to the sequels while still honoring the legacy of the previous directors.
Why Scream 7 Has A New Director and What It Means for the Franchise
About Scream
Scream is an American horror franchise comprising of four movies, with fifth upcoming. There have been multiple writers and directors for the franchise throughout its start in 1996 to the end in 2022. The first four movies (1996, 1997, 2000, 2011) was directed by Wes Craven.
The upcoming fifth instalment, titled only ‘Scream’ is written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick and directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett. It will have Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courtney Cox and Roger L. Jackson reprising their previous iconic roles.
Scream will release exclusively in theaters on January 14, 2022.
Sometimes we include links to online retail stores and/or online campaigns. If you click on one and make a purchase we may receive a small commission. For more information, go here.
