Mason Gooding Thought His Character Was Dying In Scream 5

"Scream" fans are still reeling from the events of "Scream (2022)" that saw Dewey Riley (David Arquette) meet a terrible fate at the hands of Amber Freeman (Mikey Madison) and the news that Neve Campbell would not be returning as Sidney Prescott for the first time in the franchise's history. Only Courteney Cox's Gale Weathers remains from the holy trinity, with a new generation poised to take over battling the many iterations of Ghostface. Made up of actors Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmine Savoy Brown, and Mason Gooding, "The Core Four" take center stage in "Scream VI" after surviving the last Woodsboro massacre to relocate somewhere with a lot more potential victims — namely, New York City.

For Gooding, who plays Chad Meeks-Martin in Radio Silence's latest slasher, the actor thought he had reached the end of the line way before he ever set foot on an NYC subway car. As you probably recall, Chad was lured outside of Sidney's old house when he followed a phone tracker to find his girlfriend, Liz Mackenzie (Sonia Ammar), only to end up being brutally stabbed and left for dead.

Gooding fully expected to accept his gory fate, but screenwriters James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick had other plans. "I was kind of bait-and-switched," the actor told Entertainment Weekly. "The script that I got the first time around said I died. I don't think you necessarily go into a 'Scream' movie expecting to live every time. I just kind of accepted my fate. It wasn't until we began filming 'Scream 5' that I was told that I was going to survive and make it to the next one."

With more victims than survivors littered throughout the series, Mason Gooding and the rest of the "Core Four" are enjoying the same advantages as the "O.G. Three" of Sidney, Gale, and Dewey. They get to live ... for now. When Gooding received the script for "Scream VI," he was surprised by the kills and also how much more complex the characters had become in such a short time:

 "I didn't necessarily know that the 'Core Four' dynamic was going to take on the level of intimacy that it did, so to speak. Nor did I think I was going to be as thrown off by the killer reveal as I was. People will see why when they watch the movie."

Fans are about to find out who survives and who perishes when "Scream VI" hits theaters. (Be sure and check out Chris Evangelista's /Film review.) While he still can't say much about the twists and turns, Gooding promised an even gorier entry this time around:

"I can say from experience the moniker of bloodiest 'Scream' holds up. But what I've always loved about 'Scream' is the care and love that the movie seems to embody in its theme and messaging."

Truly, the final girl trope has been completely reinvented thanks to Wes Craven's original films, and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are doing their best to continue that legacy. One unexpected twist could call for a final guy, and Gooding could fill those shoes as long as he doesn't meet a gruesome fate from Ghostface. "What's cool about 'Scream' is, you're happy either way," he noted. "You either get a cool death or a really cool opportunity to come back, so either way I kind of win-win."

"Scream VI" hits theaters March 10, 2023.