Kevin Williamson has ruled himself out of directing Scream 8.
The 60-year-old filmmaker - who wrote the original 1996 Scream film and the second and fourth movies in the blockbuster horror franchise - co-wrote and directed the recently-released Scream 7 but is planning to take a step back from the series and focus on other things in the near future.
Asked if directing Scream 7 had made him want to direct more, Kevin told Hello Sydney: “Not Scream, no. I want to direct another film that I had written that is just waiting for me to find the time to direct.
"And right now, I’m working on a couple TV shows that I’m really excited about. So maybe I’ll direct one of those — who knows? For the next Scream, I’ll probably step back and just be a part of the family again.”
While Kevin has "some ideas" for storylines for future Scream movies, he would rather sit back and see what other people have in mind.
Asked about possible themes, he said: “I don’t know. Whoever does it will have to let us know. I have some ideas of where it could go, but I’m anxious to see what another storyteller could do with it. I hope that we get the chance to do it.
"It’s nice to be part of the Scream family. That doesn’t mean I always have to be front and centre. I don’t always have to write or direct.
"Other people can take the reins. I’m excited to see what other storytellers come up with.”
But Kevin confirmed Paramount haven't yet green lit another film in the Scream franchise.
He said: “I’m hopeful there will be an 8. No one’s really talking about it yet. We just assume, with the box office, we hope there will be one. But no one’s talking.”
Kevin recently spoke of how he was keen to put Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott at the heart of Scream 7.
The 52-year-old actress returned for the latest film in the slasher franchise after sitting out 2023's Scream VI due to a pay row and the director opted to make her alter ego the central focus of the picture after the exits of younger co-stars Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera – with the latter being fired for social media posts about the conflict in Gaza.
Speaking to The Hollywood Reporter at the movie's premiere in Los Angeles, he recalled: "I got a call from one of the producers, William (Sherak), and said, 'Well, we're going to have to come up with something else.'
"I've known Neve for 30 years, I knew what she wanted. Yes there was the salary dispute and paying her, but she's also an actress and she wants to act. She wants a role.
"So we wanted to do a Sidney-centric film and catch up with Sidney Prescott all these years later and sort of see what she's up to."
The director explained that he was keen to explore how Sidney's encounters with the murderous Ghostface have shaped the character's life and her relationship with daughter Tatum Evans (Isabel May).
He said: "What's her family like? What would happen if she had a daughter the same age that she was when all this started? How does she parent, how does she talk about the past?
"She's so traumatised, every conversation Sidney has ends in blood and guts. 'Mom, what was your first time like?' 'Well it was the night all my friends got killed.'
"What was college like? 'Oh, well, my first semester everyone got killed.' It's just not something you want to talk about, but if you have a daughter who desperately wants to connect with you, that's a conflict that we establish in the movie."
