Scream 7 has faced a rocky road behind the scenes, to say the least, marked by major changes and uncertainty.
During development, Melissa Barrera, who starred in Scream (2022) and Scream VI, was fired, reportedly due to her comments about the Gaza war. Director Christopher Landon also departed VII, partially due to the fallout from Barrera's release. Shortly thereafter, Jenna Ortega also departed the project, citing cast and creative changes.
However, the dust has finally settled, the film is now officially in production and slated for release on February 27, 2026. In a major creative pivot, the upcoming installment is refocusing the narrative around the franchise’s original lead, Neve Campbell, signaling a return to its roots.
Guy Busick, who co-wrote the script, is sharing some new details about the project.
“I don’t want to give anything away about the reason [Scream 7] had to be a Sidney movie because there’s a really cool reason,” Busick told ComicBook. “In all these movies, you have to ask, ‘Why now? What is the thing Scream is commenting on now?’ Scream is always in a conversation with the audience about the state of movies, the state of horror movies and in particular, franchises.”
Busick also confirmed that Scream 7 will not be set in New York. “I don’t want to be the one to spoil where it is,” Busick said as he also tried to avoid specific spoilers about a time-jump. “It’s an unspecified amount of time [after Scream VI]. I might get contradicted by other people, but in my mind, more than two years. I would say at least two years. It could be two years, but I would say two years plus.”
The cast for Scream VII includes:
- Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott
- Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers
- Mason Gooding as Chad Meeks-Martin
- Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin
- Roger L. Jackson will once again voice Ghostface
- Isabel May is confirmed to play Sidney's daughter
- Joel McHale has been cast as Sidney's husband,
New cast additions with unspecified roles include Celeste O'Connor, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace, Sam Rechner, Anna Camp, and Mark Consuelos.
In a surprising twist, both David Arquette (Dewey Riley) and Matthew Lillard (Stu Macher) are set to return for Scream 7, despite their characters being long believed dead. The details of how they’ll be reintroduced remain under wraps, sparking intense fan speculation.
The leading theory is that Ghostface will be using deep-fake technology and masks to seemingly bring the deceased characters back to life, playing havoc on Sidney's psyche in the process.