Fear Street has to be one of the best and most successful streaming experiments Netflix has ever attempted. A movie trilogy released like a TV miniseries, three Fear Street films premiered over three consecutive Fridays back in July 2021, delivering some much-needed midsummer scares.
Horror fans adored the trilogy, with critics determining that the films get better as they go along — on Rotten Tomatoes they’re all Certified Fresh at 84%, 86%, and 87%. So it’s no surprise that Netflix has decided to resurrect the franchise for at least one more round. And, going by that RT trend, it’s possible this could be the best Fear Street movie yet.
What’s Fear Street: Prom Queen about?
As confirmed in January 2024, Fear Street: Prom Queen is set to be the fourth installment in the Fear Street series. As with the previous trilogy, Prom Queen is based on a book of the same name by R.L. Stine.
First published in 1992, Prom Queen is actually the 15th novel in the Fear Street book series, and as you can probably guess involves a battle to be crowned prom queen turning bloody when the candidates start getting picked off in gruesome ways. Going by the official synopsis for the Netflix adaptation, it sounds like the movie will be much the same, albeit with a twist in the setting:
“Welcome back to Shadyside. In this next installment of the blood-soaked Fear Street franchise, prom season at Shadyside High is underway and the school’s wolfpack of It Girls is busy with its usual sweet and vicious campaigns for the crown. But when a gutsy outsider is unexpectedly nominated to the court, and the other girls start mysteriously disappearing, the class of ’88 is suddenly in for one hell of a prom night.”
Yes, Fear Street: Prom Queen will be set in 1988, which continues on from the first trilogy jumping around the town’s timeline. To jog your memory, Part One takes place in 1994, Part Two in 1978, and Part Three in 1666.
In keeping with the Fear Street books being anthological in nature, Prom Queen will introduce a whole new cast, with none of the stars of the prior trilogy expected to return. Likewise, director Leigh Janiak has handed the baton to director Matt Palmer, who also wrote the script with co-writer Don McLeary.
On March 26, to mark the film going into production, the full cast was revealed. Prom Queen stars the likes of India Fowler (The Nevers), Suzanna Son (The Idol), Fina Strazza (Paper Girls), David Iacono (The Summer I Turned Pretty), and Ella Rubin (The Idea of You). The more mature cast-members — i.e. the ones playing the parents — include Chris Klein (American Pie), Lili Taylor (Outer Range), and Katherine Waterston (Fantastic Beasts).
When could Fear Street: Prom Queen stream on Netflix?
No release date for Fear Street: Prom Queen has been set as yet, but with the original trilogy spending 12 collective weeks in the Netflix top 10 the streamer will no doubt be eager to release this one as soon as possible. With filming due to last until this May, a summer premiere date to match the earlier films seems too much of a stretch. However, a fall 2024 arrival — to mark Halloween — is somewhat feasible. Failing that, it’s possible Netflix will hold it back until summer 2025.
