Scream 5: Courteney Cox officially signs on for the upcoming sequel

Courteney Cox will be reporting for duty, reprising her role as savage journalist Gale Weathers in Scream 5.

Courteney Cox has joined Scream alum David Arquette and is set to reprise the role of Gale Weathers in the franchise’s next installment. This latest casting news seems to confirm that the series’ upcoming entry will be a continuation of the original movies, rather than being a reboot. As of now, Cox’s Gale Weathers and Arquette’s Dewey Riley are the only characters to officially be announced as returning to the franchise, though it’s been rumored that Neve Campbell is in negotiations to return as everyone’s favorite final girl, Sidney Prescott.

Scream 5, a tentative title, will be from Spyglass and Paramount Pictures, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (Ready or Not), and feature a script written by James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) and Guy Busick (Ready or Not). As noted, the cast is still in the assembling process, with future updates to come. (Anybody else hoping to see Hayden Panettiere’s Kirby Reed from Scream 4 return? We technically never saw her die.)

Bettinelli-Olpin, Gillett, and Busick released a statement stating:

"“We can’t imagine Scream without the iconic Gale Weathers and are so incredibly thrilled and humbled to have the opportunity to work with Courteney. We’re absolute mega fans of her work and we’re so excited to join her in the next chapter of the Scream saga!”"

This will be the first Scream film released since 2011’s Scream 4, which was met with mixed reviews and a somewhat lackluster box office performance. MTV attempted to serialize the franchise, creating a tongue-in-cheek Scream horror television series that lasted three seasons. Scream 5 will also include longtime franchise writer and producer Kevin Williamson, who will be an executive producer on the project. Though we don’t have a release date as of yet, filming is scheduled to begin in Wilmington, North Carolina later this year.

We’re super excited about this casting news, which pretty much confirms that Neve Campbell will be returning, as she has said she would do it under the right circumstances, especially if David and Courteney came back as well.

Are you happy to see Gale Weathers returning to the Scream franchise? Let us know in the comments section below.