After losing two leads and another director, Scream 7 is back on track. And wouldn’t you know it, the producers managed to come up with enough money to lure Neve Campbell back to the franchise. But she’s not the only Scream OG returning for the sequel.
Courteney Cox is in talks to reprise her role as Gale Weathers in Scream 7, according to Variety. Cox is the latest addition to the sequel, which has also recruited Neve Campbell and original screenwriter Kevin Williamson.
Campbell announced her return to the franchise in a post to her Instagram account, where she shared a photo of her copy of the Scream 7 script. She also broke the news that Kevin Williamson, writer of the original Scream and Scream 2, is returning to direct the seventh installment. Williamson, who most recently directed the fun pandemic-era slasher Sick (streaming on Peacock), will direct from a script written by Guy Busick, screenwriter of 2022’s Scream and Ready or Not.
“I’ve dreamt for many years of how amazing it would be to make one of these movies with Kevin Williamson at the helm,” Campbell wrote. Williamson reshared Campbell’s post and added his own caption in which he thanked Scream fans for their support.
Campbell will reprise her role as Sidney Prescott, the franchise’s original protagonist and star of the first three Scream films. She also appeared in Scream 4, which focused primarily on Sidney’s cousin Jill (Emma Roberts) and her teen friends. Campbell returned again for 2022’s Scream, helping revive the franchise with directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and new protagonists played by Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega.
The only Scream sequel to not feature Campbell is 2023’s Scream VI. Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett returned to direct, with Barrera and Ortega once again in the lead, moving the story to New York City. Campbell revealed that she wasn’t returning for the sixth movie because the studio refused to meet her pay demands. Still, the sequel was successful enough to warrant another, and that’s when the trouble started.
A recap of Scream 7‘s bumpy production
When Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett decided not to direct Scream 7, production studio Spyglass enlisted Christopher Landon. The director of fun, subversive horror flicks Happy Death Day, Happy Death Day 2U, and Freaky was a perfect fit for the franchise that began as a postmodern take on the classic slasher genre.
Then, in November 2023, Spyglass fired Scream 7 star Melissa Barrera for comments she made in social media posts about Israel’s war on Gaza. That same week, it was revealed that Jenna Ortega was also not returning for the sequel, with reports indicating that her exit was related to scheduling conflicts and had nothing to do with Barrera’s firing. (This hasn’t been confirmed by Ortega, and it’s still possible that she bounced when Barrera was fired.)
Following that news and Spyglass’ insistence on accusing Barrera of antisemitism, Landon decided to part ways with Scream 7, leaving the sequel without a director or any leads.
When will Scream 7 be released?
Given various delays, we probably won’t see the next chapter in the Scream saga until 2025.
This article has been updated.
(featured image: Paramount Pictures)
