‘Scary Movie 6’ trailer leaks ahead of official release

The long-awaited sixth installment of the “Scary Movie” franchise is already generating enormous buzz — and the official trailer hasn’t even dropped yet.

A teaser for “Scary Movie 6” leaked online this week after Paramount Pictures began running it in theaters ahead of “Scream 7,” sending horror-comedy fans into a frenzy. The full trailer is expected to officially drop online Monday, but the unauthorized footage circulating on social media has already racked up tens of thousands of reactions.

Franchise architect Marlon Wayans leaned into the chaos, posting a video to Instagram of himself sneaking into a theater to film his own teaser — captioning it “Just Bootlegged my own Movie Trailer! WE’RE BACK!!!!” The post earned more than 125,000 likes.

According to horror outlet Dread Central, the trailer parodies a sweeping range of recent horror titles, including Ryan Coogler’s Oscar-nominated “Sinners,” Zach Cregger’s “Weapons,” the “Quiet Place” franchise, “Terrifier 3,” “Get Out,” “Nope,” “M3gan” and “The Substance.” The film’s tagline promises that “every line will be crossed.”

Dread Central also exclusively reported that the production may have filmed a particularly controversial sequence involving the “Sinners” parody — one that a source says may depict blackface imagery on a Ghostface-inspired mask. It remains unclear whether the scene will appear in the final cut.

The sequel comes 13 years after “Scary Movie 5” and reunites much of the original core cast, including Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans, Anna Faris, Regina Hall, Lochlyn Monroe, Dave Sheridan, Cheri Oteri, Chris Elliott and Jon Abrahams. Newcomers to the franchise include Damon Wayans Jr., Kim Wayans and Heidi Gardner.

Marlon Wayans, Shawn Wayans and Keenen Ivory Wayans co-wrote the script alongside longtime collaborator Rick Alvarez, who is also producing. Michael Tiddes directs.

Marlon Wayans previously told Entertainment Weekly that the film would be a “no holds barred and equal opportunity offenders” experience. “We just want to make everybody laugh, and we don’t care if you’re sensitive,” he said. “Even sensitive people need to laugh at themselves.”

Among the confirmed parody set pieces is a spoof of the infamous mall Santa scene from “Terrifier 3” featuring horror actress Felissa Rose — a sequence that was initially cut from the film but has since been reinstated in a trimmed-down edit. Ms. Rose is joined in the scene by “Terrifier” producer Michael Leavy, making for a callback for franchise fans, as both have prior connections to the “Terrifier” series.