Credit: Paramount Pictures / Spyglass Media Group / Radio Silence ProductionsScream 7 is officially back on track — but not in the way it was originally intended.
Last year, world-famous Scream Queen Neve Campbell rocked the fanbase when she took to Instagram to announce her long-awaited return to the iconic slasher series, after exiting the sixth and latest film, Scream VI (2023), before filming due to a salary dispute.
Having already taken the lead in Scream (2022) alongside Campbell and legacy actors Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers) and David Arquette (Dewey Riley), Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega returned to lead the sixth film as on-screen sisters Sam Carpenter and Tara Carpenter, respectively, while Sidney Prescott had been temporarily written out.
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However, while they were both set to reprise their roles again in Scream 7, in November 2023, Barrera shared a social media post regarding the Israel-Hamas war which producers at Spyglass Media Group viewed as antisemitic, resulting in the actress’ firing from the film.
Shortly after, Jenna Ortega also exited the project (which the Wednesday star told The Cut earlier this year was due to the loss of the original creative team, which included Scream 2022 and Scream VI directors, Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin).
And then, like the knife hadn’t already been stuck in deep enough, director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day) announced his exit, leaving Scream 7 dead in the water.
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But, like any slasher franchise, whether it’s Halloween or Friday the 13th, Scream can only stay dead for so long, even without its two leading stars and director.
Now, the seventh film in the long-running series that started with Wes Craven’s Scream (1996) has the series’ original star Neve Campbell and Kevin Williamson, who wrote the screenplays for Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), and Scream 4 (2011), on board as director.
However, with a completely new script, the movie will be very different to the one we’d have gotten with Barrera and Ortega in the lead.
While Campbell has confirmed she’ll be returning as Sidney Prescott in the upcoming film, saying in her lengthy Instagram post that she’s excited to announce that “Sidney Prescott is coming back,” adding that she has “been asked, in the most respectful way, to bring Sidney back to the screen,” it’s possible that she may not be returning just to play Sidney Prescott.
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In a similar vein to Wes Craven’s New Nightmare (1994), which takes place “outside” the previous A Nightmare on Elm Street films, Scream 7 may see Neve Campbell follow in the footsteps of original Elm Street final girl Nancy Thompson.
In A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) and A Nightmare on Elm Street 3: Dream Warriors (1987), Nancy was played by Heather Langenkamp, who later returned to portray a fictitious version of herself instead of Nancy in Wes Craven’s 1994 meta slasher.
Having Neve Campbell play Neve Campbell would certainly be a divisive route for Scream to take. After all, fans are deeply invested in characters like Sidney Prescott and Gale Weathers (who are now the only survivors of the original Woodsboro murders).
But on the other hand, Scream is known for constantly breaking the fourth wall in the most ridiculous ways.
Not only that, but how many times can the series keep justifying the return of Sidney? Sure, setting Scream 7 outside the film series might be a bizarre move (especially considering we already have the Stab movies existing within the Scream movies), but the latest film, Scream VI, is hardly thought-provoking stuff and is far too meta for its own good.
That said, we think it’s about time Scream took meta to a whole new level.
When is Scream 7 Out?
Scream 7 will be released on February 27, 2026. It stars Neve Campbell (Sidney Prescott), Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers), Mason Gooding (Chad Meeks-Martin), Jasmin Savoy Brown (Mindy Meeks-Martin), Roger L. Jackson (the voice of Ghostface), Isabel May (Sidney’s unnamed daughter), and Joel McHale (Mark Evans, Sidney’s husband).
The film also sees the return of David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, and Scott Foley, who previously played Dewey Riley, Stu Macher, and Roman Bridger, respectively.
Anna Camp, Mark Consuelos, Ethan Embry, Asa Germann, McKenna Grace, Celeste O’Connor, Sam Rechner, Michelle Randolph, and Jimmy Tatro have also been cast in undisclosed roles.
How do you feel about Neve Campbell returning to Scream? Let Inside the Magic know your thoughts in the comments down below!