Willa Fitzgerald Gets Candid About Wes Craven's Legacy And Her Scream: The TV Series Role - Exclusive
When it comes to the most significant influences on modern horror, Wes Craven stands at the forefront. Craven redefined the slasher genre between his work on "A Nightmare on Elm Street" and "Scream." In 1996, his work on the original "Scream" film helped birth the meta-horror genre, creating a blueprint for similar films that have popped up in the decades since its release. The franchise hinges on poking fun of scary movies by highlighting its most ridiculous tropes and bumping up the drama (and ridiculousness) several notches.
In addition to the five popular "Scream" films in the franchise, MTV launched "Scream: The TV Series" in 2015, with Willa Fitzgerald taking over the final girl slot from Neve Campbell. With a fresh look for Ghostface and a new slate of tormented teens, the show lived on for two seasons before its Season 3 reboot in 2019 — with no new episodes since then.
"Reacher" star Willa Fitzgerald spoke to Looper during an exclusive interview where she got candid about Wes Craven's legacy on the horror genre, how involved he was in "Scream: The TV Series," and whether or not she'd be willing to reprise her TV role or appear in any future "Scream" movie sequels.
Wes Craven: The man behind the Ghostface mask
Anyone who's worked on any of "Scream" director Wes Craven's projects only has wonderful things to say about the horror icon. Fitzgerald affirmed that she didn't really get to work with Craven herself on "Scream: The TV Series," but his legacy was palpable onset. "Wes was involved, but by the time that we were shooting the show, he wasn't traveling much. He was involved more in the production side of things and was never able to make it to set, but he created a whole genre of slasher, horror, campy," she said. "He really was an inventor of a genre. His legacy is so huge that I would've loved to have met him, and I have so much respect for him.
"There's a lot of work that's being made right now that is an homage to him, and, I'm sure, that will continue to be made because he really did make a thing that was new when he made that first 'Scream' movie." In fact, a sixth "Scream" film is already confirmed — so Craven's legacy continues to live on through the franchise.
The future is a scream
The second season of "Scream: The TV Series" left fans on a massive cliffhanger before the show's reboot — leaving the fates of Emma and her surviving friends up in the air. When it comes to the possibility of reprising her role, Fitzgerald is just waiting for a call that may or may not come. She said, "Oh my gosh. No one's called me yet. That's all I'll say. No one's called me. I don't know much about where they're going with things these days. I'm excited to watch the new movie."
With the recent highly successful fifth "Scream" film and the greenlit follow-up, there are even more opportunities for roles in this world — whether the TV actors reprise their roles or take on a meta new one. Once again, Fitzgerald is game if the opportunity to join the films arises. "If they give me a call, I'll answer it," she said before clarifying, "Oh, I want to play the villain for sure." It would definitely be fun to see the TV show's first final girl play Ghostface.
The first season of "Reacher" is now playing on Prime Video.