When Scream first hit theaters in 1996, it took pop-culture by storm. Now, director Wes Craven returns to the franchise in a new decade with Scream 4. During production of the flick, it was announced that screenwriter Kevin Williamson (who scripted the first two Scream films) was being replaced with Ehren Kruger (who wrote the third Scream film, which was received, um, not well…). Craven made everyone uneasy when, shortly after that news broke, he tweeted from the set “No longer in control of the script.” The director recently sat down with Total Film magazine (via ScreamTrilogy) to discuss the issue:

“I was just stating the fact. In some ways it’s a Wes Craven film, and in way it’s not entirely, because it’s not a script I have control of. It’s ultimately controlled by what the studio wants in the script. My job is much more bringing whatever experience and expertise and creativity I can. Look, there was a bumpy period when things shifted over from Kevin to Ehren. I signed up to do a script by Kevin and unfortunately that didn’t go all the way through the shooting. But it certainly is Kevin’s script and concept and ideas and themes.”

For more, including 4 new images from the film, hit the jump. [Update: We've updated the article with the hi-res version of the images]

While it’s reassuring to know that the basic elements from Williamson’s script remain, it’s a bit disheartening to hear that the studio is finagling parts of the story (though maybe that’s not a bad thing, considering Craven’s most recent outing as a director). However, Craven tweeted just today that he's seen the final mix of the film and stated that Scream 4 "kicks ass and will leave you wanting more."

When Scream 4 was originally announced, it was stated that they were envisioning the film as part one of a new trilogy. When asked about the possibility for more Scream films, Craven responded thusly:

“When I initially met with Kevin, he sketched out what the next two would be, and I found it really fascinating. A lot depends on whether they come up with scripts to flesh out. But certainly, I’m up for it, if the script is there. It’s a fascinating thing to do two trilogies in a career.”

I’d say this mostly depends on the success of Scream 4. If the film is terrible and fails to ignite the box office once more, that new trilogy will most likely be scrapped. If the Scream franchise can score once again and capture a new generation of fans, you can bet Dimension will want to keep things going.

Speaking of which, here are four new images from the film that debuted on the official Facebook page. Scream 4 stars Neve Campbell, David Arquette, Courteney Cox Arquette, Emma Roberts, Rory Culkin, and Hayden Panettiere and opens April 15th.

Click on the image for high resolution.