Based solely on what happens to Drew Barrymore in the opening scene of the original Scream movie from 1996, it doesn’t look like actress Jenna Ortega (Yes Day) is going to play a major part of the upcoming fifth installment of the franchise, also titled Scream.
In the first trailer for the sequel, Ortega, who plays Tara Carpenter, answers the phone much like Barrymore does at the start of the original movie. On the other line is the Ghostface killer, the franchise’s main villain, who asks Tara in his iconic and creepy voice if she “would like to play a game?”
We all know how shocking Barrymore’s early exit from the original film was to audiences 25 years ago, particularly because no one thought a big star like her would get killed off in the opening 10 minutes. With the way the trailer begins for the new Scream, we’re not betting Ortega’s role is any bigger, but might be just as impactful in setting up the rest of the thriller. Hopefully, she at least gets to eat some popcorn, but don’t count on it. Ghostface looks like he’s a murderer on a mission.
That doesn’t mean that Latine representation in the Scream franchise’s latest movie ends there.
Melissa Barrera (In the Heights) plays Sam Carpenter, Tara’s sister and one of the latest targets of Ghostface. She’s confronted by OG Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) who tells her that she has some experience with the slasher who is hunting her. Other original characters returning to the sequel include Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox).
“The attacks were all on people related to the original killers,” Barrera’s Sam explains to her friends and potential victims. And from the trailer, it looks like Barrera gets to stab things, so we’re going to assume that – like Sidney and Gale – she’ll come out of this a survivor.
Scream premieres in theaters on January 14, 2022.