(Reuters) – MTV has set its sights on turning the popular “Scream” horror film franchise into a television series, the U.S. cable network said on Thursday.
MTV said it has ordered a one-hour pilot episode and that producer Dimension Films is in negotiations with the franchise’s director, Wes Craven, to direct the pilot.
The series is expected to air in summer 2014, said MTV, a unit of Viacom.
The film series, about a masked serial killer who stalks his victims, began in 1996, and it had follow-up instalments in 1997, 2000 and 2011.
Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette were the main stars of the cast over the course of the four films.
The franchise, which was praised for its satirical take on the slasher subgenre of horror films, has grossed more than $600 million worldwide, according to box office tracker Boxofficemojo.com.
(Reporting by Eric Kelsey; Editing by Jill Serjeant and Mohammad Zargham)