David Arquette has been in every Scream installment since the original 1996 film and, in the process, his character, Dew Riley, has gone from hapless deputy to Woodsboro’s sheriff. The actor has also witnessed the ebbs and flows the franchise has experienced over the last three decades. The latest movie is being positioned as a reset of sorts and, unlike previous outings, it wasn’t created under the carefully eye of Wes Craven. While fans might be skittish about the results, Arquette isn’t worried about the final product. In fact, he recently explained how OG and new Scream fans will enjoy the soft reboot of the horror franchise.
The actor didn't hide his enthusiasm for the upcoming horror flick. He recently sounded very confident while talking about the new film, calling it a nice throwback to Wes Craven’s original film. He said about the new film praying tribute to the original film:
The filmmakers were very specific about honoring the history of the series. Tyler [Gillett] and Matt [Bettinelli-Olpin] are such incredible directors. They were inspired by Wes [Craven] growing up. It's just been this incredible experience watching these young actors and seeing them at a similar age to when I did my first Scream. There's a lot of heart involved with it.
Things seem to be looking up with this film, and the fact that actors like David Arquette were willing to return is a good sign. His recent comments may come as a sigh of relief for Scream fans. While some may still be skeptical, hopes are high that Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s love for Wes Craven’s work and horror will translate to the reboot. And in doing so, the new film will seemingly serve as a full-circle moment for the cast as well as audiences.
David Arquette wasn’t done revealing how the latest installment relates to the first movie. The actor, who already feels the film has the late director's approval, explained to IGN how the franchise’s history played into the sequel. He also talked about how the characters relate to one another:
We all want to do our characters justice… Even though this is a new group, it feels very much like we're in the same world.
With the movie still set in Woodsboro, the world should still feel familiar to longtime franchise devotees. The location is definitely part of the connection fans have to the 1996 flick. Later in the chat, the star also revealed how the cast and crew respected the work done on previous installments:
People have a real deep love of history like this film has. It will take you back to the feeling you had when you saw the first one. At least it's doing that for me. Because you want to respect the world that Wes [Craven] created with [writer] Kevin Williamson and be able to expand on it with this new generation… I love watching them [younger main cast] watch horror films and doing their homework on the genres. I think the fans are really going to love this because it's a fan's movie.
Hopefully, David Arquette's comments ring true when the movie is finally released. Fans – new and old – will be able to see how things pan out when Scream arrives in theaters on January 14, 2022.
