Spyglass has tapped Christopher Landon — a scary movie stalwart whose credits include the Happy Death Day franchise as well as body-switching horror-comedy Freaky — to direct the seventh installment of the long-running Scream franchise.
Landon takes over from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the filmmaking team known as Radio Silence, who helmed the 2022 installment that rebooted and refurbished the franchise. The duo followed that movie, simply titled Scream, with Scream VI, which was released in March.
Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett stepped back, in part, to focus on an original horror movie for Universal, which currently remains impacted by the actors' strike. The duo, as well as third group member Chad Villella, will now act as executive producers.
The two recent movies, distributed by Paramount, grossed $137.7 million and $168.9 million worldwide, respectively, and introduced a fresher-faced cast to the bloody proceedings, among them Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, and Mason Gooding.
Sources say the actors do not have deals for a new installment but are expected to return once the dual writer and actor strikes are settled.
James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick wrote the scripts for the two recent movies. However, Landon is also an established screenwriter, having written or co-written all his directorial efforts. In any event, the script aspect won’t come into focus until the writers' strike ends.
It is also expected that Paramount will return as a distributor.
Wes Craven directed the first four Scream movies, with Kevin Williamson penning the original released in 1996, creating a dominant horror franchise that winkingly serves up meta-commentary alongside scares. It centered on the hunt for a killer (or killers) in a black sheet and white mask named Ghostface.
Landon’s most recent movie was "We Have a Ghost", which starred David Harbour and Jahi Winston, and debuted on Netflix in February.
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