The ‘Teen Wolf’ movie calls us back to Beacon Hills

The Teen Wolf movie announcement came on the four-year anniversary of season 6’s finale and brought with it a myriad of emotions.

Yeah, they knew what they were doing.

For those who might not know our history, rest assured it is steeped in Teen Wolf lore. Subjectify Media was created when Hypable shut down after 10 years of entertainment journalism. We wanted another place to express our thoughts and feelings on the properties we loved.

Natalie and I bonded over Teen Wolf all those years ago. We came together, already fans of the first season, to do a little show called Not Another Teen Wolf Podcast in 2012. We couldn’t have guessed where that venture would take us, and I’m honestly glad I didn’t know ahead of time.

Interviews. Set visits. San Diego Comic-Con. Life-long friends. Tattoos. Memories. Adventures.

It’s the sort of thing that defines an era. It’s the sort of thing that defines you as a person. We’re not just talking about the show here. We’re talking about pieces of our identity that were forged because of these experiences. This goes beyond the boundaries of a television screen.

When Teen Wolf announced it was ending, we cried. I remember sitting next to Natalie in Hall H at SDCC, tears streaming down my face. I wasn’t surprised—it had felt like the end was coming for a while—but I did feel lost. We had a whole season left ahead of us, but after that, what was I going to do?

I remember asking myself who I was without this show. To the average viewer, that may sound unhealthy. To those involved in fandom, you know how quickly you can create life-long relationships with strangers on the internet based upon a common interest.

For the last four years, I’ve been searching for something else to latch onto. Something else that could give me the same feeling Teen Wolf and its community had given me over the years. I tried with Into the Badlands, but that met a swift end (I will never not be angry it was canceled). Percy Jackson has been there all along, and I’m happy to be doing Prophecy Radio, covering Rick Riordan’s projects more closely than ever.

But nothing will ever feel like Teen Wolf except Teen Wolf. News of the movie reinvigorated us. The group chat groaned awake. We wiped the dust off the podcast. Natalie and I sent half a dozen messages back and forth that pretty much all said, Can you believe this? What timing. I can’t believe this.

It seems like providence that the moment we must strike out on our own, Teen Wolf is there to remind us we’re never alone. Laugh if you want, but this show means more to me than any other property ever has. It changed my entire life, and I’ll never do anything but love it for what it’s given me.

After four years, I was certain Teen Wolf was over for good. There had been rumors of a spinoff that had fallen flat. Talk of a reboot, of course, but that wouldn’t happen for a while, if ever. The idea of a movie was the closest we’d gotten to a legitimate revival of the show, but I wasn’t exactly holding my breath.

And then the news broke. Variety reports that showrunner Jeff Davis has inked an overall deal with MTV Entertainment Studios. It’s a multi-year contract, which means there will be more than just the Teen Wolf movie to contend with.

The article also mentions Davis will create another werewolf show titled Wolf Pack, based on the Edo Van Belkom books. He will also be developing the Aeon Flux live action reboot, which I’d previously reported about on Hypable.

You can listen to us talk in-depth about all of this news on Not Another Teen Wolf Podcast episode #153.

All of these properties will stream on Paramount+, which starts out at $4.99/month. Formerly CBS All Access, the streamer now includes originals such as The Stand, Picard, and Evil. You can watch sports and even some of the latest blockbusters, like A Quiet Place Part II and Infinite (which stars Dylan O’Brien!). There’s also a Paramount+ and Showtime bundle for $9.99/month.

Most importantly, perhaps, is the fact that the entire Teen Wolf series will be available to stream on Paramount+. It’ll be the official home of our beloved series, and just in time for the film to come out in 2022.

According to Variety, the synopsis for the Teen Wolf movie reads, “A terrifying evil has emerged in the town of Beacon Hills. The wolves are howling once again, calling for the return of Banshees, Werecoyotes, Hellhounds, Kitsunes, and every other shapeshifter in the night. But only a Werewolf like Scott McCall, no longer a teenager yet still an Alpha, can gather both new allies and reunite trusted friends to fight back against what could be the most powerful and deadliest enemy they’ve ever faced.”

It shouldn’t come as any surprise that Tyler Posey is leading the wolf pack once again, as he’s made it clear he’s willing to do Teen Wolf for as long as Teen Wolf will have him. The description also gives us some clues as to who else might return: Holland Roden as the banshee Lydia Martin, Shelley Hennig as the werecoyote Malia Tate, Ryan Kelley as the hellhound Deputy Parrish, and Arden Cho as the kitsune Kira Yakimura.

We can also look at who’s been sharing their Teen Wolf memories across social media over the last couple of weeks and/or who’s posted about the movie.

These include Posey, Roden, Hennig, Crystal Reed (Allison), JR Bourne (Chris Argent), Melissa Ponzio (Melissa McCall), Dylan Sprayberry (Liam), Kelley, Ian Bohen (Peter), Khylin Rhambo (Mason), Colton Haynes (Jackson), Tom Choi (Mr. Yukimura), Orny Adams (Coach), and Cody Christian (Theo).

Keep in mind this does not guarantee any of these actors will be in the movie, as they could just be supporting their former show and fellow castmates, but from the look of it, I don’t think it’s naive to think many members of the cast will return.

Plus, we may meet some new characters and creatures that will forever be indoctrinated into Teen Wolf lore!

I am excited and scared and exhausted all at once. I haven’t stretched these muscles in a while, and my Teen Wolf experience has been overwhelming in the most positive way possible. It’s like putting on track shoes for the first time in four years and hoping you’ve still got it in you. My love for this show will never die, but I’m a different person than I was 10 years ago. I’m curious to see how I view a new installment in the series after all this time. I wonder how much these characters have changed in the interim, too.

Beacon Hills has always been a comfort to me. Teen Wolf is a show I can watch again and again without ever getting tired of it. It’s something I’ve lived and breathed for so long that it feels like an old friend. Seeing these characters on screen one more time will be as much of a reunion for us as it is for them.

And I’m looking forward to saying hello to every last one of them.

The ‘Teen Wolf’ movie will air on Paramount+ in 2022