The Second ‘Scream’ Trilogy Originally Went Very Differently

Gizmodo · Feb 23, 2026 · Collected from RSS

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When the fifth Scream was released in 2022, it set Ghostface on a new path. Yes, the legacy characters returned, but the killer was mostly after new characters for new reasons. That, however, was not the original plan of the franchise’s creator, Kevin Williamson. Williamson, who wrote Scream, Scream 2, and Scream 4, originally viewed 2011’s Scream 4 as the start of a new trilogy. However, after the film didn’t quite have the financial success of the first three, as well as the sad passing of franchise director Wes Craven, everything changed. First, Scream became a TV show, and then a decade later, a whole new team took the helm to bring it back to theaters. But, with Williamson now returning for this week’s Scream 7, he recently revealed what his versions of Scream 5 and Scream 6 would have been had none of that happened. Scream 4, for those who might not remember, follows Jill (Emma Roberts), the cousin of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), who masterminds the Ghostface killings as a way to gain fame and fortune. The final film ends on an oddly ambiguous note; Jill is killed, but not exposed. That’s where the changes begin. Speaking to Cinepop, Williamson explained from there. Here’s the video, which we’ll talk about below. As he says, Williamson wanted Jill not just to survive Scream 4 but also to get away with the killings. That is, until his Scream 5, where someone else figures it out and starts killing her friends. Jill would’ve then been forced to expose a new killer while still trying to hide the truth about her past. Sounds like a very cool follow-up that we are honestly bummed didn’t happen. From there, the connectivity gets a little less clear. We’d imagine Jill would’ve had to die in his Scream 5, though Williamson doesn’t say. What he does say, though, is he too would’ve killed Dewey in Scream 5 (which the actual film also did), leading to a sixth film with Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) filling the Sidney role of dating a new man who may or may not have been the killer. Looking back now, it’s oddly ironic that Williamson had these plans, let them go, and now finds himself back in the Scream franchise. Without Williamson, Scream 5-7 was well on its way to becoming its own trilogy (which, according to Skeet Ulrich, would’ve seen Scream 5 and 6 star Melissa Barrera become Ghostface in the end). However, thanks to Spyglass firing Barrera over her views regarding the war in Gaza, that changed. Williamson was called back in to steer the ship and finds himself in a place where his Scream 7 has to seemingly ignore the events of the past two films, which the actual Scream 5 also did. It’s all kind of annoying and meta in a very Scream way. We’ll see later this week how Scream 7 deals with those issues as well as any of Williamson’s original ideas. Which Scream 5 and 6 do you prefer, or would you have preferred? Williamson’s? Or the ones we got? Let us know below. Want more io9 news? Check out when to expect the latest Marvel, Star Wars, and Star Trek releases, what’s next for the DC Universe on film and TV, and everything you need to know about the future of Doctor Who.