Where does Fear Street: Prom Queen fit into the original trilogy's timeline? Explained

The Netflix horror sequel Fear Street: Prom Queen is set to open on May 23, 2025. The fourth release of the Fear Street series, the upcoming film fits in the original trilogy's timeline.

The film series based on R.L. Stine's novel series, Fear Street, started in 2021. The first three films were released on Netflix in a form of a trilogy, each dropping one week after another.

The fourth film is set in 1988 at Shadyside High School, during Prom Night. However, the night turns horrific as the girls contesting for the title of prom queen end up missing one by one. The official synopsis, per IMDb:

When the "it" girls competing for prom queen at Shadyside High start to disappear, a gutsy outsider discovers she's in for one hell of a prom night.

Let us explore where Fear Street: Prom Queen fits, in the timeline of the original trilogy.

Where does Fear Street: Prom Queen fit into the original trilogy's timeline? Explained

The first film of the Fear Street franchise, Fear Street Part One: 1994, is set in the year 1994. The second film, Fear Street Part Two: 1978, released a week later and, as its title suggests, is set in the year 1978. The third installment, Fear Street Part Three: 1666, goes back to the 17th Century, tracing the roots of the curse that haunts on Shadyside.

The forthcoming film is based in 1988, so its story unfolds in between the trilogy's first and second film. Fear Street: Prom Night happens 10 after the second film in the trilogy and six years before the first film.

This upcoming film is also a separate offshoot film in the series, as Sarah Fier or the Goode family are not a part of its plot, although the story is still located in Shadyside. The story of this film is based on R.L. Stine's book, The Prom Queen.

The director of the film, Matt Palmer, has opened up about the setting of the forthcoming film. As he mentions to Tudum, the effort was to capture the thrills of the eighties-style slasher entertainers. Palmer says:

“With Senior Prom just two days away the race for prom queen is already heating up, but when somebody starts slaughtering the prom queen candidates, all hell is set to break loose. Think classic 80s slasher and all the fun that entails, but with compelling characters, needle drops, dancing and a whole lot more!”

Besides capturing the music and aesthetics of the 1980s, Palmer highlights that the film will explore the struggles of the teens back in that era, and how such issues still persist. He explains:

“We dig much deeper down into high school and family life in this installment and find that, again, so many of the challenges that ’80s kids faced still seem to totally resonate today.”

Fear Street: Prom Queen stars India Fowler, Suzanna Son, Fina Strazza, David Iacono, Chris Klein, Ella Rubin, Lili Taylor, Ariana Greenblatt, and many others.