The Wayans Push Back as Paramount Tightens Its Grip

The Wayans – “Scary Movie (2026)” reunites Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris and Regina Hall for the first time in decades, but the revived satire still feels pulled toward corporate branding and modern IP logic as Paramount’s year of public and industry turbulence h

When “Scary Movie” returns, it’s supposed to feel like a punch thrown without asking permission. This time, though, the timing can’t be ignored. Paramount has spent much of a difficult year juggling the fallout from its Skydance merger. intense public scrutiny around journalistic independence at CBS News. and a controversy involving former “60 Minutes” correspondent Scott Pelley—who was fired just this week after a high-profile clash with new editorial leadership inside CBS. In that atmosphere, the franchise’s revived parody lands under a dark cloud.

For “Scary Movie (2026)”—a nostalgic revival built on the Wayans’ brand of anarchic shock—parody is at its sharpest when it’s allowed to be untamed. The Wayans have always understood that. Their humor has been shaped by smartly rendered shock jokes. and watching the core group come back feels like something fans have waited almost a generation to see. Still. it’s dispiriting to watch that return follow a familiar route: the parody series appears to land in corporate clutches.

The good news is that the Wayans have largely reclaimed the franchise they founded. After infamous disputes with its Weinstein-era custodians saw the core team ousted before “Scary Movie 3. ” the fracture cast has finally reunited. Marlon Wayans and Shawn Wayans appear alongside Anna Faris and Regina Hall. returning in the roles long tied to the series’ identity. For longtime “Scary Movie” fans, that reunion alone carries emotional weight.

Chemistry is part of the reason it still mostly works. Despite the time between “Scary Movie 6” and the core four’s last appearance in 2001’s “Scary Movie 2. ” the lead actors’ chemistry largely holds up. Director Michael Tiddes—who has never helmed a “Scary Movie” installment but has been a key Wayans collaborator for decades—keeps the energy moving and reminds viewers why these performers became comedy icons.

Faris remains the standout as Cindy Campbell. The “Scary Movie” final girl has long functioned as the series’ secret weapon. Even as she steps away from her teen “Scream” origins to play an aging slasher survivor archetype made famous by Jamie Lee Curtis in “Halloween” (2018). Faris makes flat material feel sincere. Hall is similarly delightful as Brenda Meeks. framed through an extended riff on Octavia Spencer’s “Ma. ” which lands as hilarious.

Olivia Rose Keegan brings fresh snap as Cindy’s daughter, Sarah. The 26-year-old actress delivers a pitch-perfect Faris impression. and when “Scary Movie 6” centers the characters that click. Keegan’s presence helps the movie find its footing. But some of the younger arcs don’t carry the same momentum. Marlon’s weed-obsessed Shorty Meeks and Shawn’s not-gay-but-definitely-gay Ray Wilkins struggle to find their comedic sweet spot in story beats that feel dated compared to the rest of the Wayans’ script.

The screenplay is co-written by Marlon. Shawn. Keenen Ivory Wayans. Craig Wayans. and Rick Alvarez. and it shows a clear sense of what the franchise is supposed to do—especially with the movie’s built-in pop-culture targeting. More young newcomers join the cast as “Scary Movie 6” shapes itself around Paramount’s earlier “Scream 6” from 2023.

That youthful presence can feel almost too current. and the satire itself often seems to cherry-pick a narrow slice of recent genre discourse. A background gag involving “Final Destination Bloodlines” lands cleanly. A particularly vicious joke aimed at last year’s “I Know What You Did Last Summer” reboot earns big laughs. even if they come a little reluctantly. There’s also a brutal quip about “John Wick” and spinoff culture at Lionsgate.

Still, not every reference hits the target with accuracy. A nod to the 2014 indie sensation “It Follows” lands as objectively wrong and yet decently funny. The celebrity cameos overall are “generally excellent. ” beginning with a genuinely inspired cold open that immediately signals the Wayans’ understanding of stunt casting.

But the larger issue is less about specific jokes and more about what the revival seems to be trying to parody. The satirical series’ long-awaited return doesn’t fully decide what story it wants to tell about the horror genre itself. The original “Scary Movie” arrived at the end of a decade dominated by slashers—a trend already softly skewered by “Scream” at the time. The last 13 or so years in genre filmmaking have been more complex and dynamic. with the rise of indie auteurs at Neon and A24 and the “elevated horror” discourse that came with it. Horror has gained more artistic recognition while still powering the box office.

“Scary Movie 6,” though, mostly skips over that terrain. It largely moves past the dominance of The Conjuring Universe and Blumhouse, streaming originals, the explosion of internet horror, and more—presenting an incomplete film history to general horror fans.

The omissions are striking, especially for a movie surrounded by modern platforms. Social media influencers, Letterboxd users, YouTube critics, true crime obsessives, and other eventizing voices around contemporary nightmares go unscathed. “Scary Movie 6” touches “M3GAN. ” “Smile. ” “Candyman. ” “Longlegs. ” “The Substance. ” “Sinners. ” “Get Out. ” “Weapons. ” and more. resulting in a weirdly awards-heavy film that feels best suited to Paramount’s taste.

Even the way the movie handles broader cultural material points to the same tension. The Wayans don’t retreat from controversy entirely. Jokes appear involving Black Lives Matter. Trump. pronouns. Diddy. Drake. Michael Jackson. #MeToo. and even a reference to the noxious “MAGA Shaman” made infamous by January 6. There’s an audacious willingness to wander into uncomfortable territory at a time when many entertainers avoid political tensions altogether.

Some of the film’s race one-liners slip into the final cut. but much of its dicier material comes off as weirdly effortful rather than naturally reckless. The original “Scary Movie” chapters were vulgar. chaotic. and offensive—precisely because the comedians weren’t tempted by the false promise of universal likability.

“Scary Movie 6” feels like it has engineered transgression instead of letting it happen organically. Jokes about gender, sexuality, and trans identity sometimes land awkwardly, met with chuckles that feel more procedural than spontaneous. It’s also an R-rated comedy that spends a lot of time discussing blow jobs. cunnilingus. and pegging. yet it can feel sexless in tone.

One crucial filmmaking lesson seems to be shaping that contradiction. Directed by David Zucker. “Scary Movie 3” and “Scary Movie 4” taught the franchise that visual gags go farther for the series’ general audience than biting social commentary. “Scary Movie 6” wants credit for saying the unsayable, but it also seems nervous about what it can get away with.

That tension shows up most clearly in the movie’s relationship to Paramount’s own “Scream” universe. “Scream” IP influence looms over nearly everything in “Scary Movie. ” including a late joke involving a thinly disguised stand-in for a controversial “Scream 7” character decision likely to spark controversy. Yet the Wayans never directly engage with the real-world debate hanging over Ghostface.

That matters because “Scream 7” has been widely panned earlier this year after Melissa Barrera was dismissed from the franchise over social media posts about Gaza. “Scary Movie 6” doesn’t tackle that directly. It includes only one very weak line involving Neve Campbell. refusing to engage with any actual controversy at Paramount outside that reference.

Nobody should demand nuanced geopolitical analysis from a “Scary Movie” installment—and only a fool would be genuinely offended by what the film doesn’t mock. Great satire still depends on what it excludes, though. With that refusal, the movie comes across as thoughtless and toothless at the same time.

The feeling lingers that “Scary Movie 6” is curated rather than unleashed. During a live Q&A at Vidiots in Los Angeles. the legendary horror director Joe Dante—asked about the state of satire in modern Hollywood—offered an answer that was hopeful but blunt. Even when he made “Gremlins 2: The New Batch” at Warner Bros., the industry wasn’t particularly friendly to parody. He also framed the issue as thorny even when looking back to a film from 1990.

Watching “Scary Movie 6,” the perspective sticks. The work doesn’t feel explicitly censored. but it does feel dishonestly curated—arriving pre-shaped by corporate ideology and brand management. It’s a return that reminds you how easily parody can get pulled toward the interests it’s supposed to take apart.

Somewhere inside that mismatch, the film still proves what fans already know the Wayans can do. “Scary Movie 6” is a “Wazzzzup?” comeback in the way that matters most: the franchise can still be reclaimed. It just doesn’t always sound like it’s fighting for its old point of view.

Grade: C+

From Paramount, “Scary Movie” (2026) is in theaters on June 5.

MISRYOUM Scary Movie 2026 Paramount Wayans Anna Faris Regina Hall Marlon Wayans Shawn Wayans Michael Tiddes Joe Dante Scream 7 Melissa Barrera horror satire film review