Scary Movie 6 Will Parody 7 Classic (And Not-So-Classic) Modern Horror Movies

The spoof movie craze died a horrible death after the wave of excruciating parodies from Jason Friedberg and Aaron Seltzer unleashed upon audiences throughout the 2000s, but much like Pennywise, the dormant subgenre could be coming back to slay in a big way. Akiva Schaffer's hilarious "Naked Gun" reboot proved that there's room on the big screen for movies centered around a bunch of dumb gags parodying the cultural landscape. With that in mind, it really does feel like the perfect time for another "Scary Movie." The state of horror has gone through so many significant shifts that there's a wealth of movies, characters and tropes to poke fun at. 2013's "Scary Movie V" may have stopped the franchise in its tracks, but the development of "Scary Movie 6" is made all the more exciting knowing that the Wayans are returning to revive what they started. Well, they kind of are.

The first two installments of the "Scary Movie" franchise were directed by Keenan Ivory Wayans ("White Chicks"), with the following entries being helmed respectively by David Zucker ("Airplane!") and Malcolm D. Lee ("Girls Trip"). "Scary Movie 6" is not being directed by Keenan, but Michael Tiddes, also known as the filmmaker behind those terrible Marlon Wayans-led spoof movies like "Fifty Shades of Black" and the two "A Haunted House" movies. Screenwriter Rick Alvarez is also hopping onboard the horror comedy franchise, which doesn't inspire a lot of confidence. What does, however, is Keenan, Marlon and Shawn Wayans, who are all involved with the film. Here's hoping their material overrides Tiddes and Alvarez's worst impulses because, as flawed as the early "Scary Movies" were (especially in regard to its repugnant transphobia), there are still some great jokes that still endure. It's a problematic favorite for sure.

The question on everyone's mind when "Scary Movie 6" was announced was which movies they were going to lampoon, and I think we have our answer. In a recent interview with ComicBookMovie, Marlon Wayans gave a rundown of seven horror movies that have the potential to be made fun of. The titles included "Scream," "I Know What You Did Last Summer," "Heretic," "Longlegs," "Nope," "Get Out" and "Sinners." I see some familiar names, as well as a whole bunch of memorable newcomers that only entered the genre-space within the past decade or so. What does this mean for the plot of "Scary Movie 6?" Well, there's a couple of ways to look at it.

Countless horror franchises like "Candyman," "Halloween" and "The Texas Chain Saw Massacre" have all received legacy sequels that revisit the inaugural films in their franchise decades later. They often involve a bunch of fresh, young faces finding themselves trapped in a cycle of violence that leads them to the cast members who initially encountered this threat. The inclusion of "Scream" and "I Know What You Did Last Summer" among Marlon's reference points for "Scary Movie 6" feels especially fitting considering the first film is a surprisingly seamless amalgamation of the '96 and '97 films. It's funny how I actually saw "Scary Movie" first, so there are moments where I'll accidentally conflate the two and misremember which came from which. That shows how much the Wayans did their homework in emulating Wes Craven and Jim Gillespie's work.

With both Anna Faris and Regina Hall returning in "Scary Movie 6," there's a whole world of opportunity to be incredibly meta about the spoof of a spoof. Faris and Hall really should have had their own string of buddy comedies, especially since they were able to maintain their chemistry during the carryover from the Wayans to Zucker. David Sheridan, who played the unfortunately outdated Office Doofy, confirmed that the "Scary Movie" depiction of Ghostface will return as well (via Fangoria). It makes sense considering you can walk into a Spirit Halloween and see the "Wazzup" mask from the first movie alongside the official Ghostface one. That little kernel of information from Sheridan, coupled with Marlon's insistence on returning to make fun of the late '90s slasher well, indicates we could have the kind of legacy sequel premise I was talking about.

The inclusion of "Heretic" and "Longlegs" among the Wayans brother's reference points also give the indication that the sixth film will also take jabs at the cycle of elevated horror. I can't stand the term in an un-ironic sense, especially since it indicates there's a subsection of horror movies that are somehow lower than ones that take themselves a bit more seriously. Even Radio Silence's "Scream" poked fun at younger generations preferring these movies before finding themselves in a slice and dice. When it comes to "Longlegs" specifically, there's no doubt in my mind it will be Marlon's Shorty who emulates the makeup-encrusted that Nicolas Cage so memorably brought to life. The three remaining films on this list also present an opportunity for the Wayans to tackle yet another popular horror subgenre.

For as much as I love the horror genre, it hasn't exactly had the best reputation when it came to othering. Movies like "Candyman," "Dawn of the Dead" and "Demon Knight" were once the exception, with each film uplifting Black talent like Tony Todd, Ken Foree, and Jada Pinkett Smith. The depiction of Black characters within the genre were otherwise underdeveloped, served up as the sacrificial lamb, or not even included. There's an insightful documentary on Shudder called "Horror Noire" that delves into the genre's history with a greater nuance than I could provide. The past decade or so, however, has seen a significant shift with the arrival of Jordan Peele's Academy Award-winning "Get Out."

The 2017 film was the explosive reckoning this genre had been needing since its inception. In its wake came a bunch of socially-conscious Black-led horror movies like "His House," "The First Purge," "Overlord" and "Sweetheart" and "Master." Peele became the kind of filmmaker whose projects were events that couldn't be missed in theaters. Given how the comedy star turned prestige filmmaker turned an entire genre on its head, it's no wonder why the Wayans would see the potential for comedy. I can already envision Jean Jacket from "Nope" turning into a crude joke about someone's butthole.

Ryan Coogler's "Sinners" may be relatively fresh to mine for comedic material, but it's easy to see why the Wayans would focus their attention on it. The genre-melding vampire blues musical, much like "Mad Max: Fury Road," became one of those movies that already felt like a generational classic upon its theatrical release. The Wayans returning to the franchise they conceived with clear targets of such beloved horror movies could make "Scary Movie 6" the spoof this genre has been needing.

"Scary Movie 6" is set to be released on June 12, 2026.