Melissa Barrera says the upcoming “Scream” will honor the franchise’s late director Wes Craven.
The film, the fifth in the iconic horror series and the first not directed by Craven — who died in 2015 — debuts on Jan. 14, 2022
“[Directors] Matt [Bettinelli-Olpin] and Tyler [Gillett] bring their freshness to it, but we’re honoring Wes,” Barrera said on the red carpet at the “In the Heights” premiere in New York City. “I think it’ll make the fans happy, but also bring in a new audience to the movies, which I’m excited about.”
Original “Scream” cast members Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Neve Campbell return for the new installment.
“I couldn’t believe it; I was being a fan the entire time,” Barrera said on Wednesday. “Every time they yelled, ‘cut,’ I would say to the directors, ‘Take a picture of us!'”
Barrera will play a new character, Samantha Carpenter, alongside new stars Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, Kyle Gallner and Dylan Minnette.
“Now Courteney is a really close friend of mine,” Barrera said. “They’re all so incredible and I loved it. I’m so excited for January.”
Barrera also plays Vanessa in Jon M. Chu’s “In the Heights,” which hit theaters and HBO Max on Thursday. While she said it’s “so hard to choose” her favorite musical number in the film, “The Club” was her favorite one to shoot.
“It was so hard to get that choreography, and after I did it, I felt so proud of myself,” Barrera said. “And now looking at it and seeing hundreds of people dancing together … it makes me excited for the world to open back up and be able to do that again.”
