“What they did is between them and God,” Wayans said of Harvey and Bob Weinstein, who he alleges ousted him and his brothers from the franchise following the second movie

NEED TO KNOW

• Marlon Wayans is returning to the Scary Movie franchise after he alleges the Weinsteins stole the franchise from him and his brothers
• After the second film’s success, Wayans says the Weinsteins ousted him and his brothers and made the third film without their knowledge
• “What they did is between them and God,” Wayans said of Harvey and Bob Weinstein

Marlon Wayans is reclaiming the Scary Movie franchise.

The 53-year-old actor opened up about his long-awaited return to the hit comedy franchise in Scary Movie (out June 5), after 25 years away from his character, Shorty.

The reboot marks the first Scary Movie installment involving the Wayans family since 2001’s Scary Movie 2. Marlon claimed in a new interview with Variety that he and his brothers were pushed out of the franchise by Harvey and Bob Weinstein after they demanded a raise for a third film following the massive success of the first two movies, and failed to properly pay them royalties from the first two films.

"They absolutely did [us wrong]. Absolutely," Wayans said, adding, "We could've sued, and we probably would've won.” 

The Wayans family had birthed the franchise: Marlon and his brother Shawn starred in and co-wrote the films, and their brother Keenen directed.

Immensely popular for satirizing its contemporary horror counterparts, the Scary Movie franchise became a massive asset to its distributor, Dimension Films, which was part of Weinstein-owned Miramax. The first film, which was made on a $19 million budget, brought in $278 million, while the second grossed $141 million from a budget of $45 million.

Following the impressive box office results of the first two movies, the three Wayans brothers pushed for a raise for Scary Movie 3. After countering with a lowball offer, Marlon alleges the Weinsteins then stole the brothers' idea for the next film without their knowledge and excluded them from the movie.

"We didn't even know,” Wayans told Variety. “We got an announcement on New Year's Eve that they were doing Scary Movie 3. The franchise was stripped from us. And we were just asking for our fair share.” 

“What they did is between them and God,” he added. “I don't applaud that type of behavior, but I can't hold hate and hurt in my heart if I want to evolve.”

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PEOPLE reached out to a representative for Harvey Weinstein for comment.

The revival of Scary Movie represents a full circle moment for the Wayans family, and also the fulfillment of a promise Marlon made to their patriarch, Howell. Wayans told the outlet that one of his father's last wishes was for him and his brothers to "work together again," and the forthcoming film honors his promise.

"When Jon [current Miramax CEO Jonathan Glickman] hit me up to do ‘Scary Movie,' I was like, 'I can't do this without my brothers,' so I got Shawn and Keenen on board," Wayans said. "This is a return back to the franchise we all created, so forget all the bad years! This isn't ‘Scary Movie 6'; this is a reboot.”

Scary Movie is in theaters nationwide June 5.

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