The Wayans brothers are back in the driver’s seat for a new Scary Movie, with Sinners, Scream, Get Out, Weapons and Longlegs all getting mocked in the latest iteration of the horror parody franchise.
Marlon and Shawn Wayans created and starred in the 2000 and its 2001 sequel, before, according to the brothers, they were essentially pushed out by Bob and Harvey Weinstein, who continued the franchise without them. Now for this sixth Scary Movie, the pair are back as writers, producers and stars, alongside other original cast members Anna Faris and Regina Hall.
“Marlon called me in February of 2025 and he said, ‘We got our franchise back, would you be a part of it?’” Faris — who along with Hall appeared in the third and fourth movies without the Wayans — recalled while on the carpet at Wednesday’s Los Angeles premiere. “I couldn’t believe it because I wasn’t asked to do Scary Movie 5. I was in Scary Movie 3 and 4; they got their franchise taken away in Scary Movie 2 and so I’d always had this feeling of complicated confusion” of continuing on without the brothers.
Faris also admitted that she’s always had to grapple with “the gift” of being part of the franchise, saying, “It has been like an odd struggle for me and defining, frustrating, gratifying. I’ve spent 25 years feeling the love from people [but] I didn’t win any awards, I couldn’t even get an audition for like dramatic stuff. My peers felt like they had a leg up, I didn’t know why. I was like subjugated to what, R-rated comedies? What the fuck is my future?” And cut to today, “it just feels incredible to be like holding my own” as she added being part of “the OGs, like I’m a pillar now. And look at me, try to knock me over — I’m stable now.”
Jon Abrahams, Cheri Oteri, Lochlyn Munro, Carmen Electra, Chris Elliott, Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris, Kim Wayans and Anthony Anderson at the L.A. premiere.
Phillip Faraone/Getty Images for Paramount Pictures
Despite 25 years of content to pull from, the team opted to spoof as recent movies as they could — even doing additional shoots in April and including a nod to Michael Jackson biopic Michael, with director Michael Tiddes noting, “I believe that we’re the first movie to parody films while the films were coming out, like we were doing it live.”
Marlon Wayans also acknowledged that he doesn’t consult with filmmakers like Ryan Coogler and Jordan Peele in mocking their work, telling THR, “You don’t ask for permission, you just kind of do it and hope they enjoy it — and if not they’ll never cast you in one of their movies, and that’s OK.”
He joked that that didn’t apply to Peele, after Wayans starred in the Peele-produced horror film Him last year. When he told Peele they would be spoofing Get Out in the movie, “he was like ‘Oh, cool.’ I was like, ‘You want to be in it?’ He said, ‘Nah.’ I was like, ‘Alright, not that cool,’” Wayans laughed. He was also spotted meeting Scream 7 director Kevin Williamson at the afterparty, with Ghostface being a major character in the film.
“They know that for us, mockery is the greatest form of flattery,” Wayans added of his interactions with directors. “The fact that we can do that and make the world smile with the stuff that they did, I’m grateful that they keep making great art.”
And in a moment when the biggest films in theaters are breakout horror sensations Obsession and Backrooms, Tiddes admitted he’s “a little sad” that they didn’t make the cut to be included in the movie. He continued, “I’m so happy for those guys [directors Curry Barker and Kane Parsons] and they’re just very visually dynamic films that have iconic moments that make it kind of perfect for something like a Scary Movie parody.”
Scary Movie hits theaters on Friday.
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