How the Wayans Brothers Changed Anna Faris' Life — The Scary Movie Break That Made Her a Star
Anna Faris credits the Wayans brothers for launching her with Scary Movie — and now she’s gearing up for a highly anticipated Scary Movie 6 comeback.
If you grew up quoting Scary Movie at sleepovers, good news: Cindy Campbell is back to haunt your funny bone. Anna Faris is returning to the parody franchise that made her a star, and she just told a very candid story about how she landed Cindy in the first place — and why she thought she was going to get fired before day one.
How Anna Faris actually got Cindy (and why she assumed she would be fired)
On Entertainment Tonight's 'Spilling the ETea' chat with Marlon and Shawn Wayans, Faris looked back at her original audition. In a very behind-the-scenes detail, Marlon said director Keenen Ivory Wayans personally picked Faris for Cindy after watching her tape — even though Melissa Joan Hart was in the mix at one point. Faris laughed hearing it laid out like that, because at the time she felt like she had snuck onto the set and was waiting to be caught.
"When I was cast in Scary Movie, I was convinced I was going to get fired. I called my college roommate. She said, 'Oh Anna, you are not funny.' And I was like, 'I know, I know, I know,'"
She said it on ET; the clip made the rounds on June 4, 2026. Wild way to frame one of the most quotable comedy leads of the 2000s, but that underdog energy clearly worked.
Quick rewind: the first movie was a monster hit
Scary Movie dropped in 2000 and detonated at the box office: $ 278 million worldwide on a $19 million budget. It actually out-earned Scream, the very slasher it was lampooning, and became Keenen Ivory Wayans's highest-grossing movie as a director at the time. The plot was basically: a pack of deeply oblivious teenagers are hunted by a bumbling Ghostface knockoff after they hide a deadly hit-and-run. Simple, dumb, perfect. And it launched Faris — via Cindy — straight into comedy icon status.
Across the sequels, Cindy spoofed everything from The Ring and Signs to The Grudge, and her tag-team chemistry with Regina Hall was the glue. When Faris skipped Scary Movie 5, a lot of fans felt the magic slipped. They were not quiet about it.
Yes, Cindy is back in Scary Movie 6
Faris is officially back as Cindy Campbell in Scary Movie 6, hitting theaters June 5. She is reuniting with Regina Hall and the Wayans brothers, and the team even posed for a group shot at the L.A. premiere on June 4, 2026. The new movie ages Cindy up and hands her a deeply questionable anti-aging treatment — which, naturally, spirals into fresh chaos.
What the new one is roasting
This time, the franchise is taking aim at a bunch of recent horror hits and boogeymen:
- The Substance
- M3GAN
- Smile
- Longlegs
- Terrifier
- Stranger Things
- The latest Scream movies
Why this return matters for Faris
Beyond the nostalgia play, this comeback carries some real-life weight. Faris has talked openly about feeling overlooked by Hollywood in recent years, and she lost her Malibu home in the wildfires. So when Marlon Wayans called about Scary Movie 6, it reportedly felt less like a routine offer and more like the right door swinging open at the right time.
So here we are: more than 25 years after a nervous newcomer first put on Cindy's shoes, Faris is back in the franchise that cemented her as one of comedy's great final girls. Scary Movie 6 lands June 5. Tell me your favorite Cindy moment — I will absolutely accept 'What's up?' and any scene with Brenda.