David Arquette has been unstoppable. In 2020, he poured himself into several projects — from 12 Hour Shift to the acclaimed documentary You Cannot Kill David Arquette — proving once again that resilience is his trademark both on and off screen.

And whenever the subject turns to Scream 5, Arquette can’t help but light up.

“Well, the moustache’s a big part of it,” he told Yahoo Movies. “I’ve been playing the character for nearly 25 years now, so there’s a part of it that’s just inside me. There’s a few things I always try to lean back on; in my head he’s a big Clint Eastwood fan because he’s a quintessential tough guy. I always do these moments where he tries to be Clint Eastwood and then something goes wrong and he gets flustered,” he smiles. “At the root of it, he’s got a really big heart and he’s very human. He’s a sweetheart.”

That description sums up Dewey Riley perfectly — the unpolished sheriff with a badge full of empathy.

Remembering Wes Craven

When asked about stepping back into Woodsboro without the master behind the mask, Arquette’s emotions surfaced.

“It was tough to broach this role,” he said, fighting back tears. “We all have a deep love for Wes, so it was really important we all learned where Matt (Bettinelli-Olpin) and Tyler (Gillett) were coming from. Wes inspired them to be filmmakers. They really did honor his work and I think they did a great job. We fell right back into it, and it felt elevated.”

Arquette’s words echo the feeling of every Scream fan: no one replaces Wes Craven — but honoring him keeps the legacy alive.

Ghost Face evolution

Even the mask got its moment.

“There’s some great things about Ghost Face and his costume,” he teased. “There’s more technological advances you can use now, and the fabric we have in this one is probably a little more advanced than the fabric they had when we first did it… I’m really excited for it – and for the fans.”

That might explain the sparkly, textured fabric spotted on Meggy Blaine’s Scream 5 mask — a subtle but stylish nod to the evolution of the world’s favorite slasher.

Whether or not Ghostface received more high-tech tweaks (something Dead by Daylight-ish, perhaps?) remains one of the film’s best-kept secrets.