The marketing for 2022's Scream may be a setup for a surprising twist on the Randy Meeks-as-Ghostface Killer theory. The latest installment in the horror movie franchise features a slew of veteran cast –including Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, David Arquette, and Mary Shelton–returning to face a new killer behind the infamous Ghostface mask. Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett take over the reins from late series creator Wes Craven, promising to deliver the jump-scares and eerie phone calls that have helped the Scream franchise endure for nearly 25 years.
As the movie’s release date approaches, theories abound as to who the Ghostface killer’s identity might be this time. A fan-favorite theory is that Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) is secretly the one behind the mask. The theory just has one little problem: Randy is dead, and it doesn't look like that’s going to change anytime soon. Randy Meeks made the mistake of trash-talking Billy Loomis (the late original Ghostface) in front of Scream 2's Ghostface, who was later revealed to be Billy’s vengeance-crazed mom, Mrs. Loomis. Randy appeared postumeously in Scream 3 in a video message that he recorded before his death, but the odds for his living and breathing return seem to be as dead as he is, which, according to actor Jamie Kennedy, is “deader than dead”.
That doesn’t mean his family can’t step up for him. Two new characters expected to play important roles in 2022’s Scream are Mindy and Chad, Randy’s nice and nephew. It's far from impossible to imagine either Chad, Mindy, or even both of them putting on the mask and picking off Randy's old crew one-by-one. The precedent for more than one Ghostface killer to be active at any one time was already set in Scream 2, when Mrs. Loomis and Mickey Altieri (Timothy Oliphant) took turns as Ghostface to hunt down Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell).
Half the fun of the Scream franchise is the discovery of the killer's true identity, and learning the motivations that drove them to resurrect the symbol of the Ghostface mask to terrify the series' leads. It's impossible to say for sure if Randy's descendants have come as friends or foes (or maybe both). However, the two youngsters' deliberate inclusion by writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busnick ensures that old family secrets will surely be uncovered, and that it will be a bloody affair for all involved as Ghostface returns.
When die-hard audiences sit down to see the new Scream in January, they'll have plenty to be excited for. Chad and Mindy featuring closely makes perfect sense. A signature of the Scream franchise is the past's refusal to die, just like the series itself. It keeps on coming back, and just when you think you've finally put it all behind you, that's when the phone rings.
