Scary Movie 6 Trailer Brings The Series Back To Its R-Rated Roots

Hollywood's premiere horror spoof franchise is finally coming back. "Scary Movie 6" is heading our way this summer, and Paramount Pictures has released the first trailer for the long-awaited sequel. Wisely, the studio premiered it theatrically alongside "Scream 7," which has been met with mixed reactions out of the gate. Even so, since this property started as something of a response to the original "Scream" film trilogy, it feels fitting to bring Anna Faris' Cindy Campbell back now.

The most noteworthy thing about "Scary Movie 6" is that it's going fully R-rated like the first two films in the franchise. That also seems like a wise move in the aftermath of 2013's "Scary Movie 5," a PG-13 comedy (like "Scary Movie 3" and "Scary Movie 4" before it) that carries an abysmal 4% critics' rating on Rotten Tomatoes and killed the property at the time. But with horror flicks largely thriving in the here and now, Paramount felt this was the moment to bring the "Scary Movie" brand back to life. At least this new installment looks like a better collection of gags than the previous "Scary Movie" sequels.

Faris, as mentioned, is back as Cindy, with her pal Regina Hall similarly returning as Brenda for another round of horrific and hilarious shenanigans. Indeed, Faris previously said that she would only make another "Scary Movie" sequel if Hall was involved as well. Paramount, the Wayans brothers (i.e. the franchise's original creative architects), and director Michael Tiddes ("A Haunted House") were more than happy to oblige. So, here we are.

Other familiar faces include Marlon Wayans as Shorty Meeks, Shawn Wayans as Ray Wilkins, Jon Abrahams as Bobby Prinze, Lochlyn Munro as Greg Phillippe, Dave Sheridan as Officer Doofy Gilmore, and Cheri Oteri as Gail Hailstorm.

Marlon Wayans previously revealed that "Scary Movie 6" will spoof a variety of classic modern horror movies. In fact, the film's trailer reveals a downright laundry list of titles that are getting the spoof treatment. Along with an extended homage to "Scream VI," we also get tastes of the movie's parody of "Sinners," "Get Out," "M3GAN," "Wednesday," "Smile," and much more. Cindy is even shown going full-on Laurie Strode from 2018's "Halloween." It's a lot.

One major benefit this movie has is that there's no shortage of material to work with. One issue the "Scary Movie" franchise ran into at a certain point is that it was a cat chasing its own tail. It had to stay current, but there was only so much fuel to go around. In this case, though, the filmmakers have a full decade (and change) of modern horror films to spin into comedy gold, in addition to previously untapped classics.

That, coupled with the R rating, is probably why this "Scary Movie 6" trailer doesn't warrant a massive eye roll. It makes the film look like the right blend of low art humor and wit that allows a good spoof to work.

More broadly, theatrical comedy isn't in a great place right now. It's very tough for anything other than a rom-com to do business at the box office. Last year's "The Naked Gun" delivered the biggest, silliest laughs in years, rebooting a once-mighty spoof franchise. That worked pretty well, and Paramount appears to be trying to execute something similar here. Whether it will succeed remains to be seen, but based on its trailer, this one might pan out.

"Scary Movie 6" hits theaters on June 12, 2026.