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Scary Movie's Marlon Wayans is approaching edgy comedy differently this time: "Is it worth the goodness of your project to just be offensive?"

"I don't want any divisive scenes," claims Scary Movie originator Marlon Wayans. And he's even figured out a method to determine what constitutes one of those

The Scary Movie franchise has never been afraid to 'go there' in its comedy, even if, looking back some two decades later, it maybe should have been. The latest entry in the Wayans Brothers-led film saga, which will be its sixth, points to a similar disregard, with its trailer promising that "there are no safe spaces" in the film. And yet, as one of the creators explains, the key to the film's edgy comedy will be a little bit different than in previous installments.

That creator is none other than comedy staple Marlon Wayans, who spoke to Entertainment Weekly. After listing many of the topics that get the Scary Movie treatment in the upcoming franchise reboot (the Epstein Files, #MeToo movement, and ICE raids among them), the outlet had Wayans clarify how the crew was going about handling all of those.

"We're not punks," said Wayans, "We're not afraid — we Wayans are not afraid to go there. But is it worth the goodness of your project to just be offensive?"

Wayans compares his approach to the comedy in the film as "bareknuckle boxing," but "with kids' gloves on."

"For us," says the White Chicks legend, "It's not about the blood. We're not trying to get blood, we're just trying to hit you in the face and get you one of those Fred Flintstone notches."

Perhaps it's a bit of a labored metaphor, but what's a little bit more tangible is how the Wayans are deciding what does and does not constitute too much blood in their comedic arena.

"When we were doing test screenings," he explained. "If it's everybody's favorite scene and least favorite scene, that scene I learned has to go, because it's divisive. I don't want any divisive scenes. Everything that was divisive, I took out of the movie."

In other words, the trailer's scene featuring a dildo-wielding Anna Faris violating the franchise's Ghostface pastiche was neither the best or least-loved moment at those test screenings. We'll have to wait until the director's cut to find out what actually did meet that criteria.

Scary Movie hits theaters June 5.


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Grant DeArmitt

Grant DeArmitt: Grant DeArmitt (he/him) likes horror, comics, and the unholy union of the two. In the past, and despite their better judgment, he has written for Nightmare on Film Street and Newsarama. He lives in Brooklyn with his partner, Kingsley, and corgi, Legs.

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