Woodsboro lawman Scream franchise. His Dwight "Dewey" Riley character matured a lot over the course of the four prior Scream films, progressing from young, naive deputy to full-on sheriff of Woodsboro.
Despite appearing on the brink of death multiple times during the Scream movies, Arquette's Dewey always managed to survive, although without actually saving the day nearly as much he'd like to. With Neve Campbell publicly revealing she's in talks for Scream 5, and Arquette now confirmed, that leaves Courteney Cox as the lone hold-out when it comes to the Scream series' central trio returning en masse to tangle with Ghostface in the new reboot/sequel.
But with Dewey now officially back in the Scream fold, the question becomes what exactly to do with his character, besides just retreading his prior character development. We have an idea, one which would allow Dewey to still be goofy and lovable, but also become sort of the Dr. Loomis of the franchise.
Scream 5: How David Arquette Can Best Return As Dewey Riley
Previously, we theorized as to how best to use Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott in Scream 5, suggesting she be used as the surprise start of movie death, leaving fans shell-shocked and feeling unsafe as to who might be next. Whether Scream 5's makers actually go with that idea or not, we feel Dewey could be used in a way that allows his character to evolve a bit. While Arquette's Dewey will (and should) always possess a little of that silly, goofball charm fans know and love, assuming he hasn't retired from the force, he'll have been Woodsboro's sheriff for well over a decade by the time Scream 5 begins.
By this point, Dewey will have basically seen and done it all as a cop, and when the Ghostface killings reignite after 10 years of peace, they'll need to go big and bold, enough to make Dewey question whether he still has what it takes to stop the killer. If Sidney, Dewey's closest friend, dies early, he can spiral downward into depression and obsession, determined to catch the killer. If she survives, and is in the mix again, Dewey could become consumed with protecting her, fearing that her survivor's luck is about to run out. This could create a dynamic similar to Dr. Loomis between Dewey and Ghostface.
While there's no information yet on the story for Scream 5, one assumes that in addition to the original trio, there will be a group of younger potential victims in play, similar to Scream 4. As the sort of "elder statesman" of the Scream series, Dewey can take more of a proactive role in their storyline this time out, offering advice on how best to survive the situation, what clues to look out for as to who in their midst might be the killer, and so on. It's Dewey's time to shine, and Scream 5 can allow him to do so.
