Revealing previously undisclosed details for ‘Scream’ fans — there will, at last, be a ‘Scream 4’ and then a ‘Scream 5’ — writer Kevin Williamson might as well have compared himself to a slightly maniacal tightrope walker. That is, a tightrope walker who’d grab hold of the balance bar and suddenly wield it as a weapon, furiously gashing unsuspecting spectators while making so many semi-obscure movie references that you’d need an encyclopedia to actually follow them all.

Williamson, late of writing TV’s ‘The Vampire Diaries,’ told MTV News that three original ‘Scream’ stars — Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette — have signed to reprise their roles once more in the brilliant and self-referential slasher franchise. Both sequels will be set in the present, and a new ensemble of actors is currently being recruited for acting support. Action will still occur in mythical Woodsboro, though Campbell’s high school character, Sidney, is presumably a little older now.

Hardest to do, Williamson admitted, is balancing the meta-ness of ‘Scream’ with its seemingly limitless references to all things horror-cinematic, with a sufficiently gruesome storyline that will scare the daylights out of everyone all over again.

“I guess I’ll just have to be very aware of the fact that we’re a ‘4’ and that we’re beating a dead dog,” he said, apparently not aware of just how gruesome that image actually is. “I’m going to make that very apparent in the dialogue.”

Meantime, Woodsboro citizens: Be afraid! Be very afraid.

The American Film Market is currently running in Santa Monica this week, which means we’ll probably be seeing lots of news and photos and posters over the next few days. ShockTillYouDrop got their hands on the very first teaser poster for Scream 4, which Dimension Films is currently readying to shoot next year. Most of this early artwork is just created to get investors and to sell the movie internationally, but it’s still cool to see how they’re selling it. In addition, screenwriter Kevin Williamson talked with MTV about the plot of the fourth film and where it’s going in this trilogy. If you’re a fan of the Scream series, then keep reading!

Before we get to the official synopsis found with the poster at AFM, let’s hear what Williamson had to say about Scream 4 and what he’s been writing, since we know very little about the actual plot. From MTV:

“The fourth one is an ensemble. It’ll take place right now, 10 years later, and it’s going to take place in [Sidney Prescott’s hometown of] Woodsboro. We’ll have our three main characters, and we’ll be introducing several more. We’ll also be introducing a little group, a little ensemble of new castmembers. That’ll take us through the next three.”

We already know that Courteney Cox, Neve Campbell, and David Arquette are all set to return, but beyond that, they haven’t even chose a director. We reported in October that Dimension was supposedly close to getting Wes Craven back to direct Scream 4, but even the AFM material doesn’t list a director, so it sounds like they haven’t figured all of that out yet. Here’s what the AFM promo material did say about Scream 4:

“The horror series that reignited the genre and gross more than $500 million worldwide is back! From Kevin Williamson, creator of the original Scream trilogy, the new film sees the return of cast members Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, along with a group of new stars, who can all hopefully stay alive long enough to figure out the new rules to this one-of-a-kind horror franchise!”

Not only does the poster (seen below) say “new rules” but so does that description. So what new rules has Williamson come up with? I’m not the biggest fan of the Scream series, so I’m wondering what the rules of the original three movies were (I’m sure someone will answer that for me in the comments below), but now I’m a bit curious to know how they’re different this time. Can the killer not wear the same mask? Or can he only kill certain people? I doubt they’d have the killer wear a different mask, since it’s such an iconic part of this series, but what else big could they change? We’ll keep you updated, but only if you care to hear more!

In 1996, “Scream” came out of nowhere to bring the horror genre back from the dead like Michael Myers sitting up after a coat hanger to the eyeball. Acclaimed as the smartest horror film in years, it yielded a trilogy that would gross hundreds of millions of dollars and clear a path for dozens of self-aware genre flicks ranging from “Zombieland” to “Adaptation.”

Now, it’s getting ready to come back again for another stab.

“It’s going good,” said writer Kevin Williamson, giving us an exclusive update on the new trilogy (!) he’s writing. “I’ve gotta finish that baby.”

The series made box-office stars out of Neve Campbell, Jamie Kennedy and Skeet Ulrich as they were teamed alongside Drew Barrymore, Patrick Dempsey, Heather Graham and others in twisty, bloody plotlines. But according to Williamson, the new trilogy will only bring back three actors from the original series.

“The fourth one is an ensemble,” Williamson said of his “Scream 4” script, which is being concurrently written with a fifth script as well. “It’ll take place right now, 10 years later, and it’s going to take place in [Sidney Prescott’s hometown of] Woodsboro. We’ll have our three main characters, and we’ll be introducing several more.”

The three characters that will be returning are Sidney (Neve Campbell), Gale (Courteney Cox) and Dewey (David Arquette), Williamson confirmed, adding, “We’ll also be introducing a little group, a little ensemble of new castmembers. That’ll take us through the next three.”

Some might say that a new “Scream” movie couldn’t be as self-referential as the others, since self-aware entertainment has become so prevalent. But according to Williamson, he’s been writing plenty of spoof-heavy stuff into the “Scream 4” script.

“I guess I’ll just have to be very aware of the fact that we’re a ‘4’ and that we’re beating a dead dog. I’m going to make that very apparent in the dialogue,” laughed the writer/producer, who is also hard at work these days making “The Vampire Diaries” into a TV juggernaut.

“Come on,” he laughed. “It’s the age of the remake! And 3-D and all that [other horror fad material], can you imagine what [‘Scream’ movie-within-a-movie] ‘Stab 10’ is like?”