How Scary Movie Returns in 2026

Welcome back. While Scream 7 faces its own horrors at the box office, a leaked trailer has revealed the return of Scary Movie. This feels like Ryan Reynolds' Deadpool test footage all over again. Who is behind the leak? It's a great question. Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Chris Elliot, Dave Sheridan, Anthony Anderson, Sherri Terry, Marlon, and Shawn Wayans are all returning for Scary Movie 6, though reports indicate the film will just be titled Scary Movie. Marlon is also co-writing the script with Shawn and Kenan Ivory Wayans. For fans who grew up with these movies, this is significant. The Wayans brothers, who started the franchise, have been absent from the last three films. So now we're running it back.

The last Scary Movie was in 2013, thirteen years ago, an ironically fitting number for a horror comedy. This film is directed by Michael Tiddes, known for A Haunted House and Fifty Shades of Black. The trailer opens spoofing Scream VI's subway scene, packed with horror IPs: Michael Myers, Pinhead, connections to Us, and more. The film will spoof Sinners, The Substance, Wednesday, Weapons, Longlegs, Terrifier, Ma, Halloween, Megan, Get Out, and Smile. Characters are slightly altered: Jason Voorhees has a red sad face instead of a triangle; Pennywise is in the background; Bubba Leatherface is there. We see the Hard Eyes killer from last year's film, Megan doing her thing, and in one shot, Pinhead and Chucky. Next to Chucky is Michael Myers and Jigsaw, who was the focus of Scary Movie 4. There's a man in a yellow turtleneck, possibly referencing The Wicker Man, and Bombadook. From another angle, a generic white mask might loosely connect to The Purge. Gina suggested 1960's Eyes Without a Face, which might be too obscure. Other costumes include a guy with a pickaxe (poking fun at My Bloody Valentine, rebooted in 2009) and a man in a black trench coat (a spoof of I Know What You Did Last Summer, remade in 2025). There's also a clear Run-DMC or 70s/80s B-boy look and a cop.

The set design is funny. The subway runs from Woodsville to Elm Street, a nod to A Nightmare on Elm Street; Woodsboro is from Scream. A poster says "Okay, Bloomer Florist," leading to a corny pronoun joke. The host defends the franchise, noting pronoun jokes have always been corny. Another poster says, "Stop banning books except Harry Potter," likely referencing J.K. Rowling. Ghostface appears, and the reveal of him as Megan removing his mask feels very Naked Gun. The trailer transitions to a spoof of a Kai Cenat-style stream, evolving the classic phone call trope into modern streaming. It's assumed the cast returns in original roles, so maybe Marlon is Shorty, even doing the iconic laugh. However, above Brenda's fireplace is a memorial plaque to Shorty, a red "A-ball," and a golden bong, with a photo of Shorty from the first movie. This suggests Shorty is dead, and Marlon Wayans is playing his son, similar to a plot point in Black Phone 2. This area is a callback to Randy Meeks' memorial in Scream 5. Brenda's mom might be Shorty's sister. The music is Eminem's "Without Me," nodding to Ghostface's return and possibly Scary Movie 3's 8 Mile spoof. The references feel more like the first two Scary Movie films, where the Wayans had full control.

The film is a Mirramax/Paramount release. The original films were produced by Mirramax's Dimension Films, giving the Wayans creative control over the first two movies. Later sequels (3, 4, 5) were under different creative teams. With Scary Movie 6, Mirramax and Paramount are back, which may explain why the trailer's tone is closer to the first two films. Lachlan Monroe returns, presumably as Greg from the first movie. Yes, he died, but Brenda has died over 40 times. Continuity doesn't matter in this franchise, nor in Scream. Greg, a cop, is now married, but to whom? His girlfriend died in the first movie. The kid next to him has a haircut spoofing Wes from Scream 5, so Greg could be spoofing Sheriff Judy. Ghostface approaches "Tuesday," a spoof of Wednesday. This works in layers: Jenna Ortega (Wednesday) starred in Scream 5, whose opening mirrored Drew Barrymore's in the original Scream.

We then see Anna Faris's house, completely fortified for war, spoofing Laurie Strode in 2018's Halloween. She has the long hair, glasses, and grandma Laurie look. Her home is overrun with security cameras and weapons. Mannequins are in the background, which she would shoot in the 2018 film. Cindy has a child. Then Regina Hall returns as Brenda, spoofing Octavia Spencer's Ma. When she drops a tray, you can see she's supplying Jell-O shots, like her character supplying alcohol to minors. Doofy's star is on his chest in a scene spoofing Scream 5, where Sam gathers everyone. We cut to a scene spoofing The Vampires first trying to enter the juke joint. These are the same folks from Cindy's introduction, suggesting the white characters will turn on others in the movie, a possible callback to Scary Movie 2. Ray shows up as a cowboy. Shorty's son wears a golden pot leaf necklace, which Shorty wore in the first two movies. Cindy and Ghostface square up, spoofing Everything Everywhere All at Once with dildo weapons. Entertainment Weekly photos confirm she is also spoofing John Wick. The party in the shot evokes Happy Death Day. There's a spoof of Get Out where Shorty Too sinks into the sunken place, with cotton surrounding the chair, callback to Chris pulling cotton from the chair. Sherri Terry returns as Gail Hailstorm, a spoof of Gale Weathers, wearing a red blazer. She returns with Doofy (Dave Sheridan). They ran off together at the end of the first movie. Bobby (John Abrahams) returns, introduced in a Smile spoof where he can't stop smiling. A shot says "217," spoofing Weapons. Five children run in a V-formation with trick-or-treat baskets, like in Weapons. Shorty says, "I'll be right back," his last words to Drew (Carmen Electra) in the first movie. A child dressed as a mummy is hit by a car, a running gag in the franchise. Another Sinners reference shows Ray entering a church as Sammy. Chris Elliot's character from Scary Movie 2 returns, still with his "good hand." They spoof Longlegs with Heidi Gardner and Damon Wayans Jr. Then a spoof of The Substance with "The Stuff" and Terrifier 3 with Art in a Santa outfit. This closely mirrors the original scene: a little girl in a green elf dress, her mom on the phone, as a bloody clown hands out presents. In the real movie, a child opens a bomb; here, it's an upgrade. Behind Cindy is Michael Leavy, a producer from the Terrifier movies, and Felissa Rose from Sleepaway Camp and Terrifier 2. This scene seems a flashback showing Cindy as a shitty parent. The trailer closes with doctors refusing to help because they're on break, spoofing Scream 5's hospital scene. An extra detail: a man's plate has seven hot dogs, a callback to Weapons. A woman's name tag on her Stanley cup reads "Ratchet," a joke on Nurse Ratched from One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest and slang. This features comedian Kim Wayans. Thanks to Entertainment Weekly, we've seen other scenes not in the trailer, like more Sinners with Brenda as Annie, and a promo scene with Tuesday, Sarah, Brenda, and Cindy. This trailer is packed with references. It's been over 18 years since Marlon, Shawn, and Kenan worked together on this franchise. Marlon said in interviews this new movie aims to bring back the tone and chaotic energy of the first film. Scary Movie is scheduled for theaters on June 12, 2026.