During a recent Entertainment Tonight interview promoting the latest installment in the franchise, Marlon Wayans revealed that Melissa Joan Hart was originally being considered for the lead before director Keenen Ivory Wayans ultimately chose Anna Faris, a decision that helped launch the actress’ career and shape the identity of the long running horror parody series.
The Casting Decision That Changed the Future of ‘Scary Movie‘
The revelation came when the cast was asked whether there had ever been a celebrity who wanted to join the franchise but did not make the final cut. Marlon Wayans quickly pointed to Hart, saying, “Melissa Joan Hart. She was supposed to play Anna’s part.” The comment caught Faris by surprise, with the actress admitting, “I didn’t know this,” before adding, “She’s good!”
According to Wayans, the final decision rested with Keenen Ivory Wayans, who saw something distinctive in Faris during the casting process. Recalling the moment, he remembered the director saying, “I saw this young lady, Anna Faris, and it really feels like that’s our Cindy.”
Hart was already a recognizable star thanks to her leading role in “Sabrina the Teenage Witch,” while Faris was still an emerging actress searching for her breakthrough. Instead, the role transformed Faris into one of the defining comedic performers of the early 2000s.
The anecdote surfaced as the cast celebrates the release of the new “Scary Movie,” which reunites Faris with Marlon and Shawn Wayans, Regina Hall, and several other returning cast members. The film marks the Wayans family’s first major creative involvement with the franchise since 2001 and brings Cindy Campbell back to the center of the action as the series revisits the masked killer storyline that inspired the original movie.
As the conversation wrapped up, Marlon Wayans could not resist turning the revelation into a joke, teasing Faris, “So you took Melissa Joan Hart’s job. Good job!” Shawn Wayans joined in with a simple, “Nice job,” giving the decades old casting story an appropriately comedic ending.
