Marlon Wayans claims Weinsteins took Scary Movie franchise from his family

Marlon Wayans has claimed that the Weinstein brothers took the Scary Movie franchise away from his family following a pay dispute.

Wayans and his brother Shawn Wayans co-wrote and starred in the first two Scary Movie films while their brother Keenen Ivory Wayans directed them.

After the commercial success of the first two horror parodies in 2000 and 2001, the trio demanded a raise for a third one. However, producers Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who owned Scary Movie's studio Miramax, countered with a lower offer. When the Wayans brothers baulked at the offer, the Weinsteins allegedly made a third Scary Movie without telling them.

"We didn't even know," Marlon recalled in an interview with Variety. "We got an announcement on New Year's Eve that they were doing Scary Movie 3. The franchise was stripped from us. And we were just asking for our fair share."

In addition, the White Chicks star believes that the famed producers owe him and his brother royalties for the first two films.

"There are auditors that will handle those things. We could've sued, and we probably would've won," he stated. "What they did is between them and God. I don't applaud that type of behaviour, but I can't hold hate and hurt in my heart if I want to evolve."

The Scary Movie franchise continued without the Wayans family for three more instalments, concluding with the widely panned Scary Movie 5 in 2013.

Jonathan Glickman, the CEO of Miramax, called the brothers on his first day on the job in April 2024 to see if they'd be interested in reviving the film series, and Marlon remembered promising his late father that he'd work with his siblings again.

"Me and my family don't hold grudges," he shared. "So when Jon hit me up to do Scary Movie, I was like, I can't do this without my brothers. So I got Shawn and Keenen on board. This is a return back to the franchise we all created, so forget all the bad years! This isn't Scary Movie 6; this is a reboot."

Scary Movie, once again starring Marlon, Shawn, Anna Faris and Regina Hall, was written by Marlon, Shawn, Keenen and their nephew Craig. It will be released on 5 June.