Wes Craven Says 'Scream 5' Likely To Happen

Scream 4 was enough of a box-office disappointment when it opened this spring that it seemed to curtail all the rumors about it being the first of a new Scream trilogy. But like its plucky heroine Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), the Scream franchise isn't one to die easily. The fourth installment ultimately ended up pulling in about $97 million worldwide on a $40 million budget, apparently enough that director Wes Craven is now saying that a Scream 5 is very likely to happen. Read his comments after the jump.

Going into (Scream 4), the first meeting I had with Kevin Williamson, he did sketch out a Scream 5 and 6. The idea was that we were doing the first in a new trilogy. We had to wait to see if we made enough money on each film to make the next one viable. If that happens, those two will come up with the concepts and an idea that is worth fulfilling.

Scream 4's international gross wound up being somewhat short of the "probably $110 million" that executive producer Harvey Weinstein had estimated when he said earlier this year that he was "sure" Craven would do a sequel, but Craven still seems convinced that Scream 5 is likelier to happen than not. "The odds are that there will be (a Scream 5)," he said. "It is something that [executive producer] Bob Weinstein wants to do. He tends to do what he wants to do. So I am inclined to think that there will be (another sequel)."

Whether Craven would be part of it, however, could be a different story. The director told Shock Till You Drop that he hadn't yet received a call from Bob Weinstein, and that he didn't expect to get one "until there's something down on paper or something a writer can pitch to [him]." Once that happens, Craven will get to decide whether he wants to sign on. "I don't know. My contract gives me the first look," he explained to MovieWeb. "If they show me something that is really wonderful? Of course I will be a part of it."

Of course, if you've seen Scream 4, you'll know that there's the slight matter of what the storyline will be — the ending left it totally unclear as to what direction the franchise could go in next. On that matter, though, Craven was less forthcoming. "I'd have to kill you if I told you," he said. "We're clever at this. Let's just put it that way."