In a recent interview, Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson discussed his plan to kill off David Arquette's character, Dwight "Dewey" Riley, in the original 1996 film -- and why the crew ultimately decided to keep him alive.
"And in the movie, [Dewey] originally died," Williamson told Us Weekly. "And we filmed it that way. But what happened during the course of the movie is we realized how his performance was just so witty. Also, we loved him.
"He played it with such heart, such commitment and everyone kept thinking that," the writer continued. "About halfway through it, they were asking me about a sequel because I had already written the outline. They were like, 'What about the sequel? Why isn't Dewey in the sequel?' And so, just in case, we filmed that last sequence, of him getting in the ambulance... Just in case -- and [director Wes Craven] was right about that."
Arquette made his debut as Deputy Dewey Riley in 1996's Scream. He reprised the role in Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000) and Scream 4 (2011). He is slated to return for the next film, Scream (2022). It's worth pointing out that Dewey is one of just a few characters, along with Courteney Cox's Gale Weathers-Riley and Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott, to survive multiple Ghostface massacres throughout the franchise.
In the same interview, Williamson also explained why the new Scream film isn't titled Scream 5. "Well, it was always Scream 5 because it's the fifth one. So I think we just threw that name out, but I don't think they ever seriously were going to call it a Scream 5," he shared. "I don't think anybody wanted to see the number five after something. You'd have to ask them -- Paramount or whoever, but I think taking the 5 off and calling it Scream [works] because it's brand new."
While details about the latest installment have been kept under wraps, Arquette recently revealed the return of a very specific Dewey trait. "Dewey's had a rough life of it, and in the fourth Scream, they wanted me to get rid of his limp," the actor said. "But he's got the limp back; I can give you that much!" The film's newly released trailer also reveals that the latest entry in the franchise finds a new Ghostface killer targeting the relatives of the original killers.
The new Scream movie is scheduled to hit theaters on Jan. 14, 2022.
Source: Us Weekly