Jessica Rothe who is currently starring in the ultra-violent Boy Kills World talked to ScreenGeek at WonderCon and gave them an exclusive update about her franchise Happy Death Day.

The horror time-looper is a popular series that did pretty well at the box office especially the first one which introduced us to the bratty Tree Gelbman (Rothe) who is being stalked by a masked killer. Christopher Landon directed the original and its sequel Happy Death Day 2U.

According to Rothe, a third is being proposed, but two major studios need to sign off on the project. Here is what Rothe had to say:

“Well, I can say Chris Landon has the whole thing figured out. We just need to wait for Blumhouse and Universal to get their ducks in a row. But my fingers are so crossed. I think Tree [Gelbman] deserves her third and final chapter to bring that incredible character and franchise to a close or a new beginning.”

The movies delve into sci-fi territory with their repeated wormhole mechanics. The second leans heavily into this by utilizing an experimental quantum reactor as a plot device. Whether this apparatus will play into the third film isn’t clear. We will have to wait for the studio’s thumbs up or thumbs down to find out.

Since the beginning of the Scream franchise, it seems there have been NDAs handed out to the cast to not reveal any plot details or casting choices. But clever internet sleuths can pretty much find anything these days thanks to the World Wide Web and report what they find as conjecture instead of fact. It’s not the best journalistic practice, but it gets buzz going and if Scream has done anything well over the past 20-plus years it’s creating buzz.

In the latest speculation of what Scream VII will be about, horror movie blogger and deduction king Critical Overlord posted in early April that casting agents for the horror movie are looking to hire actors for children’s roles. This has led to some believing Ghostface will target Sidney’s family bringing the franchise back to its roots where our final girl is once again vulnerable and afraid.

'SCREAM VII' will reportedly include Sidney Prescott's family as leads.

"They are looking to cast Sid's two kids. It seems like the movie will focus on Sid's family as all 4 (her, her husband and 2 kids) are listed as leads."

(Via: @DanielRPK) #ScreamVII pic.twitter.com/TPdkE1WbOa

— CriticalOverlord (@CriticalOverlo3) April 6, 2024

It is common knowledge now that Neve Campbell is returning to the Scream franchise after being low-balled by Spyglass for her part in Scream VI which led to her resignation. It’s also well-known that Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega won’t be back any time soon to play their respective roles as sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter. Execs scrambling to find their bearings got broadsided when director Cristopher Landon said he would also not be going forward with Scream VII as originally planned.

Enter Scream creator Kevin Williamson who is now directing the latest installment. But the Carpenter’s arc has been seemingly scrapped so which direction will he take his beloved films? Critical Overlord seems to think it will be a familial thriller.

This also piggy-backs news that Patrick Dempsey might return to the series as Sidney’s husband which was hinted at in Scream V. Additionally, Courteney Cox is also considering reprising her role as the badass journalist-turned-author Gale Weathers.

As the film starts filming in Canada sometime this year, it will be interesting to see how well they can keep the plot under wraps. Hopefully, those who don’t want any spoilers can avoid them through production. As for us, we liked an idea that would bring the franchise into the mega-meta universe.

This will be the third Scream sequel not directed by Wes Craven.

With as successful as a niche independent horror film can be at the box office, Late Night With the Devil is doing even better on streaming. 

The halfway-to-Halloween drop of Late Night With the Devil in March wasn’t out for even a month before it headed to streaming on April 19 where it remains as hot as Hades itself. It has the best opening ever for a movie on Shudder.

In its theatrical run, it is reported that the film took in $666K at the end of its opening weekend. That makes it the highest-grossing opener ever for a theatrical IFC film. 

“Coming off a record-breaking theatrical run, we’re thrilled to give Late Night its streaming debut on Shudder, as we continue to bring our passionate subscribers the very best in horror, with projects that represent the depth and breadth of this genre,” Courtney Thomasma, the EVP of streaming programming at AMC Networks told CBR. “Working alongside our sister company IFC Films to bring this fantastic film to an even broader audience is another example of the great synergy of these two brands and how the horror genre continues to resonate and be embraced by fans.”

Sam Zimmerman, Shudder’s VP of Programming loves that Late Night With the Devil fans are giving the film a second life on streaming. 

“Late Night’s success across streaming and theatrical is a win for the kind of inventive, original genre that Shudder and IFC Films aim for,” he said. “A huge congratulations to the Cairnes and the fantastic filmmaking team.”

Since the pandemic theatrical releases have had a shorter shelf life in multiplexes thanks to the saturation of studio-owned streaming services; what took several months to hit streaming a decade ago now only takes several weeks and if you happen to be a niche subscription service like Shudder they can skip the PVOD market altogether and add a film directly to their library. 

Late Night With the Devil is also an exception because it received high praise from critics and therefore word of mouth fueled its popularity. Shudder subscribers can watch Late Night With the Devil right now on the platform.