In 2000, a scrappy $19 million parody of Scream earned roughly $278 million worldwide and turned Anna Faris into a comedy star overnight. Twenty-five years later, the Wayans family is back to try it again. Scary Movie 6 is real. It is a Paramount release dated for June 2026, and it carries the plain title Scary Movie.
Key Takeaways
– Yes, it’s happening. Paramount and Miramax confirmed a new Scary Movie in early 2025.
– The official title is just Scary Movie. Fans and search engines still call it Scary Movie 6.
– The Wayans are back. Keenen Ivory, Shawn and Marlon Wayans are writing, and Shawn and Marlon are returning on screen.
– Cindy and Brenda return. Anna Faris and Regina Hall are reprising their original roles.
– Release window: a theatrical release in June 2026, with Paramount+ as the likely streaming home afterward.
What to Know About the New Scary Movie
The project became official in January 2025, when Paramount and Miramax announced that the Wayans brothers were reuniting with the franchise they launched. That detail matters more than anything else in the announcement. The Wayans wrote and starred in the first two films and walked away after Scary Movie 2 (2001). The quality of the series dropped once they left.
Neal H. Moritz, the producer behind the Fast & Furious films, is on board as a producer. The writing team includes Keenen Ivory Wayans, Shawn Wayans and Marlon Wayans, along with Rick Alvarez and Craig Wayans. Alvarez is a longtime Wayans collaborator who produced White Chicks and co-created A Haunted House. Michael Tiddes, who directed Marlon in both A Haunted House films and Fifty Shades of Black, is reported as director. That is the right choice: he already knows how to shoot this specific brand of Wayans chaos on a reasonable budget.
The Cast: Who’s Coming Back
The biggest confirmation after the Wayans themselves was Anna Faris as Cindy Campbell and Regina Hall as Brenda Meeks. Faris anchored the first four films. Hall played Brenda in all of them except Scary Movie 5. Their chemistry was the franchise’s secret engine, so getting both back was the clearest sign that this is a genuine continuation and not another in-name-only reboot.
Marlon Wayans returns as Shorty, the perpetually stoned roommate, and Shawn Wayans returns as Ray. Expect a wave of new cast announcements and cameos too. These movies always pack in famous faces for single gags, a tradition that ran from Charlie Sheen and Leslie Nielsen to Shaquille O’Neal.
Why the Sixth Film Matters After ‘Scary Movie 5’
You have to understand how badly the franchise had lost its way to see why this reunion is a big deal.
| Film | Year | Director | Wayans involved? |
|---|---|---|---|
| Scary Movie | 2000 | Keenen Ivory Wayans | Yes |
| Scary Movie 2 | 2001 | Keenen Ivory Wayans | Yes |
| Scary Movie 3 | 2003 | David Zucker | No |
| Scary Movie 4 | 2006 | David Zucker | No |
| Scary Movie 5 | 2013 | Malcolm D. Lee | No |
David Zucker, the Airplane! veteran, kept the series commercially successful with parts 3 and 4. Scary Movie 3 was a genuine hit that spoofed The Ring and Signs. By Scary Movie 5, though, the jokes were recycled, the targets were stale, and the film opened with a Charlie Sheen and Lindsay Lohan bit that felt like tabloid filler. It landed at 4% on Rotten Tomatoes and pretty much killed the brand for a decade.
The Wayans approach has always been sharper and meaner. The original worked because it took real aim at the self-aware slasher wave and at the racial politics of who dies first in horror. That point of view is what the later sequels were missing.
What Will It Spoof?
Plot details are being kept under wraps. Still, you can make an educated guess, because horror has been on a massive run since 2013, the year of the last film. The last decade gave the Wayans an enormous target list:
- Elevated horror: Get Out, Hereditary, Midsommar and the whole A24 aesthetic.
- The Scream revival: The franchise restarted in 2022, and Scream 7 arrived in early 2026. That gives the series a chance to mock its original target all over again.
- Franchise fatigue: M3GAN, Smile, Terrifier and the endless Conjuring universe.
- Streaming and social media horror: Influencer culture, true-crime podcasts and viral creepypasta.
My bet is that the Wayans lean hard into how self-serious modern horror has become. That is fertile ground. Very few genres take themselves as seriously right now, and a parody works best when its target has stopped laughing at itself.
Where to Watch Scary Movie 6 and the Earlier Films
The new Scary Movie is a theatrical release first. Since it is a Paramount film, your strongest bet for streaming is Paramount+ once the exclusive theater window closes. Paramount has typically moved its theatrical titles there within a few months. After that comes premium digital rental and purchase on Apple TV, Amazon Prime Video and Google Play, which tends to come first.
You should catch it with a crowd. These films play best in a loud room, and NYC’s horror-friendly houses like Nitehawk in Williamsburg and the Alamo Drafthouse in Downtown Brooklyn are made for this kind of rowdy opening weekend.
For the original five films, streaming rights rotate between services often. Check a tracker like JustWatch before you commit. All five are reliably available to rent or buy digitally on the major storefronts, and the first two are the ones worth your time if you only rewatch a pair before June.
Is a Comedy Parody Comeback Actually a Good Idea?
Parody died at the box office in the 2010s. The Epic Movie and Disaster Movie era poisoned the well with lazy reference comedy, and studios stopped making them. Yet audiences never stopped wanting to laugh at horror. Look at the success of Freaky, Happy Death Day and Werewolves Within.
The reboot has a real opening if it brings back the sharpness and the specific comic voice of the 2000 original. If it ends up as a string of pop culture references with no jokes behind them, it will join Scary Movie 5 in the bargain bin. Having Keenen Ivory Wayans back in the writers’ room makes me cautiously optimistic.
FAQ
Is Scary Movie 6 confirmed?
Yes. Paramount and Miramax officially announced the new film in January 2025, and it is set for a June 2026 theatrical release.
What is Scary Movie 6 officially called?
The sixth film carries the simple title Scary Movie. Most people still call it Scary Movie 6 to tell it apart from the 2000 original.
Are Anna Faris and Regina Hall in it?
Yes. Faris returns as Cindy Campbell and Hall returns as Brenda Meeks, the duo from the original 2000 film.
Who is directing the new Scary Movie?
Michael Tiddes is reported to be directing. He previously directed Marlon Wayans in A Haunted House (2013), A Haunted House 2 (2014) and Fifty Shades of Black (2016).
Will Scary Movie 6 be on Netflix?
It is unlikely to land on Netflix first. As a Paramount release, it will probably stream on Paramount+ after its theatrical run, with digital rental arriving earlier.
Do I need to rewatch the old movies first?
Not strictly. If you want the callbacks to land, watch Scary Movie (2000) and Scary Movie 2 (2001), since the returning cast and the Wayans brothers are tied to those two.
