The Fear Street franchise may have to adjust its future plans after the most recent movie has underwhelmed both audiences and critics. Reviews for Fear Street: Prom Queen, which premiered on Netflix on May 23, 2025, have been very disappointing, with Screen Rant’s own Ferdosa Abdi giving it a score of 6 out of 10. The new horror movie currently has a Rotten Tomatoes critics and audience score of 27% (via Rotten Tomatoes). It’s quite rare for a movie’s critics and audience scores to both be so low, which proves just how much people dislike Fear Street: Prom Queen.

The reception of Prom Queen is very disappointing since all the other Fear Street movies have been well-received. The films in the original Fear Street trilogy, which were all directed by Leigh Janiak, were all huge hits for Netflix. Even though Fear Street: Prom Queen includes many deaths, it surprisingly doesn’t try to connect to the lore of the previous movies that much, which has made many fans upset. Therefore, due to the reception of Prom Queen, the future plans for the Fear Street franchise may have to change.

The Fear Street Franchise’s Best Future Is To Return To The Lore Presented In The Previous Trilogy

Fear Street Is A Franchise Full Of Interesting Lore

Even though Prom Queen can be watched without having seen the other Fear Street movies, there are several references to the original trilogy. For example, the Camp Nightwing mᴀssacre is mentioned and there are references to characters like Sarah Fier in the film. Therefore, it can’t be stated that Fear Street: Prom Queen completely ignores the first three movies in the franchise. However, fans and critics have expressed their disappointment that Prom Queen isn’t more closely connected to the original Fear Street trilogy.

Instead of featuring side characters who were introduced in the original trilogy, Fear Street: Prom Queen follows a new set of characters and tells the story of a series of killings during Shadyside High School’s prom night in 1988. Even though Prom Queen is technically set in the same timeline as the other Fear Street movies, it is practically a standalone slasher film. However, Prom Queen wasn’t always meant to be the fourth Fear Street movie. After the release of the original trilogy in 2021, there were different plans for the future of the franchise.

Even though Janiak expressed interest in continuing the series after the original trilogy, she wasn’t involved in the production of Fear Street: Prom Queen. Instead, Prom Queen was directed by Matt Palmer, based on a script that he wrote with Donald McLeary. Fear Street: Prom Queen was meant to start a new era for the franchise, but that has clearly not worked since the series is now at a pretty low point. Therefore, it would be best for Janiak to return to the franchise and make Fear Street movies that more closely connect to the lore of the original films.

Fear Street Already Teased Established Killers Worth Focusing On

The Original Fear Street Trilogy Introduced Many Killers

After the release of the original Fear Street trilogy, Janiak specifically claimed that she was interested in making a movie which would explore the character Harry Rooker, also known as The Milkman. This movie would have been a slasher set in the 1950s and would have shown how Harry Rooker became the killer known as The Milkman. Presumably, this film would have been much more connected to Fear Street’s lore than Prom Queen is, since The Milkman appeared in all three movies in the original trilogy.

Janiak seemed enthusiastic about making a movie about The Milkman, but there haven’t been any updates about this potential Fear Street film since. In addition to The Milkman, there are many other killers in the original Fear Street films that future movies could focus on, such as the Humpty Dumpty Killer and The Grifter. Therefore, I believe the franchise should change course and focus on characters that fans of the original trilogy want to see more of. After all, following the release of Fear Street: Prom Queen, it’s clear that the franchise’s next movie needs to be a major hit.