Great news, Scream fans!! Things just all kinds of official in regards to the production of the latest installment of the very popular horror film franchise. You may recall that we heard in late January from Kevin Williamson himself that he has been hard at work on the script for Scream 4 and today we learn that the film will begin shooting this Spring with a release date in April of next year!

Dimension Films has greenlit “Scream 4″ to shoot this spring with a release date of April 12, 2011 — more than a decade after the release of “Scream 3.” Wes Craven will direct and Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courteney Cox Arquette will reprise their roles along with a group of younger thesps. Dimension said its 2011 slate focuses on continuing its most successful franchises. The original “Scream” grossed more than $170 million worldwide in 1996; “Scream 2″ also took in more than $170 million in 1997 and “Scream 3″ topped $160 million after it was released in 2000. Craven helmed all three pics, which starred Campbell, Arquette and Cox Arquette. “‘Scream’ has been such an integral part of Dimension’s history, and I look forward to continuing the franchise,” said Dimension Films chief Bob Weinstein, who is also co-chairman of the Weinstein Co.

Hot damn, this is great news!! While April 2011 is still MORE than a year away we can take some comfort that we have a release date to look forward to. Considering that we just started hearing about specifics regarding casting last July and now we have everyone on board to reprise their roles AND an announced shooting schedule and release date … well, I think it’s all moving along very nicely. I hope we get to see some photos from the set of the film in the coming weeks … but we should be seeing promo stuff sometime at the end of this year to prep us for next year. WEE!! I love the Scream movies … all 3 of them. I am DYING to see what’s in store for part four!!

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