Scream VI Marketing Campaign Responsible for Ghostface Sightings in Various Cities: Report
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
- Oops!Something went wrong.Please try again later.
Scream franchise villain Ghostface isn't just making his way to New York City for the upcoming sequel Scream VI — the villain has been spotted in real life!
On Thursday, Variety reported that the marketing campaign for Paramount Pictures' upcoming Scream VI has included real people making appearances in at least three cities dressed as the series' masked, knife-wielding antagonist, citing sources close to the film.
Recent Ghostface sightings in the real world included a person dressed as the character seen standing on a street corner in Sonoma, Calif. — where portions of the 1996 original Scream were filmed — on Monday, prompting multiple 911 calls, according to NBC Bay Area.
The Sonoma Police Department on Monday morning released a statement via Facebook confirming that the person seen in Sonoma dressed as Ghostface "was hired by a company through Paramount to promote the new SCREAM movie."
People dressed as Ghostface have also made appearances in New Orleans and St. Louis in recent days, according to Variety.
Paramount Pictures declined to comment Friday.
Paramount Pictures
In addition to the real-life sightings, social media accounts associated with the film franchise have gotten in on the marketing effort.
Scream's official Twitter account shared a post saying: "Who's watching who?" in response to one news story regarding the recent sightings, while an account attributed to Ghostface himself has responded to multiple tweets about Ghostface sightings, writing: "I was just minding my business."
Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.
I was just minding my business https://t.co/aG8bc3J4Cc
— Ghostface (@GhostfaceTalks_) March 1, 2023
Paramount Pictures was previously responsible for last September's viral marketing campaign for the horror film Smile, which saw actors sit behind home plate at various Major League Baseball games with creepy grins on their faces. Smile went on to make $200 million at the global box office, per Variety.
RELATED: Scream 6: Everything We Know So Far
BROWNIE HARRIS/ Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media Group Ghostface in Scream (2022)
The upcoming Scream sequel — the first not to feature franchise star Neve Campbell as protagonist Sidney Prescott — brings Ghostface to a new city as young cast members Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) move to New York City to "leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter," according to a synopsis for the new movie.
In New York, Sam, Tara and friends from Scream (2022) such as Chad (Mason Gooding) and Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) meet with franchise favorites like Scream 4's Kirby (Hayden Panettiere) and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) as they are hunted by yet another killer.
Directed again by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the film also stars Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, and Samara Weaving.
Scream VI is in theaters March 10.
