Last week's edition of the annual
MTV Movie Awards saw the launch of the
official trailer for the upcoming MTV reboot of the
Scream horror franchise, which was met with much negativity, a lot of which was aimed at the radical redesign of the iconic Ghostface mask. The mask received a new look that was described by MTV as a "
darker, almost more grounded, evolved version of the mask [that is] more organic looking and a frankly darker version [than the original].” Now that sometime has passed since our brief glimpse at the character in the trailer, we may now have an explanation for this outrage.
Some fans have speculated that the redesign has to do with budgetary concerns, as the original costume was developed another company in which the studio must pay money to use, however this doesn't appear to be the actual reason for the redesign. Executive Producer Bob Weinstein claims that the Ghostface costume was revamped purely for story purposes.
"The [new] mask itself plays a story element, and that is different from Scream the movie," Weinstein says,
"It ties in specifically to the story. The mask has an importance; it's not a mask for mask's sake."
[Left] Ghostface as he appears in the upcoming series; [Right] Ghostface as he appears in the films
Despite being the one to provide the explanation for Ghostface's new look, Bob Weinstein isn't the only crew member who has spoken out about it. Wes Craven, the director of all four of the films and (reportedly) the show's pilot episode, says he has
absolutely nothing to do with the new design, claiming to have minimal involvement on the show. According to Craven,
"I just put my name on it. I was too busy to do much else. In general, we didn't mess with the mask at all [in the films]. It's something we didn't try to change. We just let Ghostface be Ghostface. Sometimes you realise that something's not broken, so don't fix it. And that was the course we took on all the Scream films: Don't mess with that, it's just perfect." It sounds almost as if Craven isn't too fond of the show's new direction himself.
The show will air 30 June on MTV, with the first season consisting of 10 episodes.
SYNOPSIS:
“Scream” the series will follow the aftermath of a cyber-bullying incident that results in a shocking murder. The brutal event brings back memories from of past killing spree that has haunted some, possibly inspires a new killer and brings together a new group of teens.
“Scream” also stars Willa Fitzgerald (“Alpha House,” “Royal Pains”), Amy Forsyth (“Torment,” “Reign”), John Karna (“Premature,” “The Neighbors”), Carlson Young (“Key and Peele,” “The Kroll Show”) and Amadeus Serafini. Jamie Travis (MTV’s “Faking It”) directed the pilot, and Jill Blotevogel (“Harper’s Island,” “Ravenswood”) will exec produce. Wes Craven, who directed the original flicks, will also serve as an exec producer.