Hit comedy franchise gets unexpected reboot
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The Scary Movie franchise, known for its humorous take on popular films in the 2000s, is getting a surprising reboot from its original creators, the Wayans Brothers.
Between 2000 and 2013, five Scary Movie films were released. These movies mainly parodied the storylines of popular 1990s slasher films such as Scream and I Know What You Did Last Summer, but their primary purpose was to poke fun at other well-known movies like The Matrix, The Blair Witch Project, and The Sixth Sense.
The initial movie was a massive hit, raking in over $270 million (£207 million) globally. However, even with four additional sequels, none managed to achieve similar financial success. This series is often blamed for putting an end to the spoof film genre.
Earlier this year, it was revealed that Paramount and Miramax were working on reviving the franchise, although no additional information was shared at that moment. Now, a significant update has emerged from the Wayans brothers: Marlon, Keenan, and Shawn.
Marlon Wayans shared on Instagram: “I mentioned last week that I had some BIG NEWS to share, and here it is—WE’RE BACK!!! After almost two decades, the Wayans brothers are finally ready to give fans what they’ve been wanting… a comeback to the SCARY MOVIE series! We can’t wait to have a great time on the big screen once more.”
Wayans also posted a photo of himself alongside their interpretation of Ghostface, the murderer from the Scream films.
In a recent interview with Variety, he expressed his enthusiasm, saying, “We’re thrilled to be involved in the new Scary Movie and to collaborate once more. We founded this franchise over two decades ago, and we still recall the laughter from audiences back then; we hope to recreate that experience. We can’t wait to partner with Jonathan Glickman and his crew at the newly revitalized Miramax to bring these laughs back to the big screen, where they truly belong. It’s a fantastic reunion in more ways than one.”
Miramax CEO Jonathan Glickman expressed his excitement, saying, “We’re excited to collaborate once again with the Wayans Brothers, the talented minds who created this cherished franchise. It’s the ideal moment to revive the series for moviegoers, and we’re fortunate to have Keenen, Marlon, and Shawn’s distinctive sense of humor delivering it to audiences everywhere.”
While the Wayans played a key role in making the first two Scary Movie films, Marlon Wayans disclosed in July 2020 that he was unexpectedly let go from Scary Movie 3 while he was on vacation. This happened after Harvey Weinstein and his brother Bob, who were the producers of the series, rejected the conditions of a new agreement.
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In a retrospective for the 20th anniversary of the original film, Wayans shared his thoughts with Variety about the Weinsteins. "They’re not the most pleasant or considerate people to work with," he said. "It feels like they operate like a harsh ruling authority. They act according to their own rules, which can be pretty disrespectful. We weren't able to agree on the contract. It’s simple: if they’re not willing to invest in the jokes, they should find someone else to handle it.”
Wayans discovered that he was no longer part of the third film while he was on vacation.
He shared that they found out on Christmas Eve that another team would be taking over [Scary Movie 3]. “We might have had grounds to take legal action, but we felt it would be better to move forward and focus on creating something fresh. Honestly, I could write a whole book about the situation. They still owe us a significant amount of money. What happened was very unprofessional.”