The road leading to MTV’s upcoming TV series adaptation of Wes Craven’s Scream movie franchise has been an odd one; however, the latest news bit to come from the network may be the strangest yet.

Back in October, it was revealed MTV had opted to not secure usage rights to the famed Ghostface mask created by Fun World, leading to the understanding Ghostface would not be appearing in the series. Many speculated this was due to an eventual reveal of the famed mask that would occur perhaps later in the series – most likely the season one finale (which made more sense when the show was officially ordered to series by the network).

But a new statement to EW from MTV’s executive vice president and head of scripted development, Mina Lefevre, has those same many confused:

It’s a darker, almost more grounded, evolved version of the mask… It’s something we’re constantly talking about. How did that mask become that mask? What’s its purpose? How did it evolve? If the Scream movie mask was the more plastic version, for a lack of a better description, this one is a more organic looking and frankly darker version.

But Lefevre didn’t write-off the original mask entirely:

It’s a little preliminary, obviously because we haven’t even started our writers room, to say that we will never see that other mask or not.

The fan theory concerning the original Ghostface mask appearing later in the series is still open, but now more complex. The original conclusion drawn was the mask rights had not been secured yet because they weren’t needed for the pilot and the series had yet to be budget for full season development. If the mask wasn’t going to appear until the finale, securing rights was unnecessary at the time.

From a story perspective, it was believed the meta-element of the franchise would somehow tie into the reveal, perhaps through the killer of the series using the mask of the Scream films to create their murderous identity. However, these new statements paint a different picture, but one that could still lead to the same reveal.

If the new mask in question is meant to answer the mystery of “How did it evolve?”, perhaps the new show could hold more connections to the films than realized (or none at all). There is the possibility of reading the situation as the “new” mask being crafted as way to explain the origins of the Fun World mask. As if to say whatever happened in the series spawned the creation of the mask that would later be used by the killers in the film.

Now, that would of course mean playing fast and loose with the timeline of the franchise, but it wouldn’t be the first time something like that’s been done for television (just look at Gotham). Another option, however, is the Fun World mask is what created the new one, and the killer using this new “organic” mask was “inspired” by the original plastic one to begin with.

Either way, it all comes back to that one word in the quote: evolution. We already know the new series is somehow tied into a viral video, so it takes place in the present. There’s also yet to be an official confirmation or denial on whether or not the series takes place in the world of Craven’s franchise. So if it in fact is set in the film word, it means these characters would have grown up with the fictional “Stab” films seen in the franchise, and that could lead to a meta-take of the show’s own concerning what those films have done to the youth of that fictional universe.

In short, this explanation leaves a lot to ponder for what should otherwise be a simple TV series…

Scream premieres October 2015 on MTV.