Credit: Inside the MagicScream and Friends just crossed paths — and we aren’t just talking about Courteney Cox.
Courteney Cox is a bit like Harrison Ford — when you think of her, two iconic franchises come to mind. With Ford, it’s Indiana Jones and Star Wars in equal parts, and with Cox, it’s Friends and Scream. But what if the US sitcom and the slasher franchise joined forces?
Unfortunately, we’ll never see Courteney Cox reprise her role as Monica Geller again — the same can be said about Lisa Kudrow (Phoebe Buffay), Jennifer Aniston (Rachel Green), Matt LeBlanc (Joey Tribbiani), David Schwimmer (Ross Geller), and, of course, Matthew Perry (Chandler Bing), who sadly passed away in October last year.
But Cox will be returning to play another iconic character: Scream‘s journalist and author (and Ghostface survivor) Gale Weathers.
Scream 7 (TBA) doesn’t have a release date yet, but now that the movie is back on track, it would take an army of Ghostface killers to make sure it never sees the light of day. To date, the meta slasher franchise, which consists of six films, has grossed over $900M worldwide.
But while the sequel is back in production, last year it was looking as though it was dead in the water when its lead actors Melissa Barrera (Sam Carpenter) and Jenna Ortega (Tara Carpenter), the stars of Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023), exited the project.
What’s Happening With Scream 7?
Barrera was fired for sharing a controversial post on social media regarding the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict, and Ortega stepped away shortly after, although the reasons are unclear — some sources say it was a salary dispute, others say it was a scheduling conflict.
Director Christopher Landon was the third to bow out, and though it hasn’t been confirmed, it looks like Barrera and Ortega’s co-stars Mason Gooding Jr. (Chad Meeks) and Jasmin Savoy Brown (Mindy Meeks), who form part of the main lineup, won’t be returning, either.
Since those three exits, the film, which now has a new script, has secured the Scream franchise’s legacy star Neve Campbell, who was absent from the 2023 sequel due to a salary dispute but will now be reprising her role as “final girl” Sidney Prescott after a brief hiatus.
Kevin Williamson, the writer behind Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), and Scream 4 (2011), replaces Landon as the director. According to online rumors, the film will make a leap forward in time to focus on Sidney Prescott’s teenage children as they face a new Ghostface.
So, with Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox — now the only Woodsboro survivors — back in the saddle, Scream 7 is shaping up to be another legacy sequel, even though we already got one with 2022’s Scream, which starred Campbell, Cox, and David Arquette (Dewey Riley).
While the latest sequel, Scream VI, which grossed $169.1 at the global box office (against an estimated budget of $33–35M), is easily the most action-packed entry in the long-running franchise, it sounds like the upcoming sequel might give its predecessor a run for its money.
Related: Neve Campbell May Not Play Sidney in ‘Scream 7’ Despite Surprise Cast Announcement
A Friends Reunion
Courteney Cox has revealed that she has “hired” Friends co-star Jennifer Aniston to prepare for her role in Scream 7, an insider close to the stars has exclusively revealed to Life & Style.
Cox will be stepping back into her role as Gale Weathers, who she has played in all six Scream movies. Her first three outings against the Ghostface killers (1996’s Scream, 1997’s Scream 2, and 2000’s Scream 3) coincided with her time on Friends (1994 — 2004).
But the source throws shade at another slasher franchise veteran — perhaps on Cox’s behalf, it’s unclear — saying, “When Courteney [Cox] signed up to make another Scream this year, she was very intentional about not wanting to go the Jamie Lee Curtis route of taking her on-camera aging overboard just to get attention and potential points from critics.”
Of course, they’re referring to Jamie Lee Curtis’ return as final girl Laurie Strode in the latest Halloween films, Halloween (2018), Halloween Kills (2021), and Halloween Ends (2022), which finds her 40 years older and facing Michael Myers (James Jude Courtney) once again.
But it’s unclear why they’re taking a stab at the ultimate “Scream Queen” Curtis, who paved the way for final girls in slasher movies after starring in the original Halloween (1978).
“For Courteney, that’s just not what the Scream franchise is about,” the source adds. “For this movie [Scream 7], she’s committed to getting into the best shape of her life and looking hot as hell when she’s on camera.” So the Friends star is doing it for attention, then?
“Jen [Aniston] is absolutely helping out in that department!” they continue. “Even though working out together has not been a big part of their friendship historically, it is now.”
Related: ‘Scream’: All 14 Ghostface Reveals Ranked From Worst to Best
Will Jennifer Aniston Appear in Scream 7?
As far as we know, the Rachel Green actor will not be appearing opposite her Friends co-star in Scream 7, but never say never. Known for their incredibly meta and often fourth-wall-breaking nature, the Scream movies have played host to several cameos over the years.
They also haven’t been shy about making direct references to other Friends actors. In Scream 2, it’s revealed that David Schwimmer (Ross Geller) has been “cast” as Dewey Riley in the in-universe Stab movies, which are based on the Woodsboro murders and beyond.
Jennifer Aniston could easily show up in a cameo role, but for now, she’s simply helping Courteney Cox get into shape for the slasher sequel.
“Jen is cracking the whip behind the scenes, but Courteney is really doing this for the [Scream] fans who have been with these films since 1996!” the source says, adding that Aniston has “a mental toughness around staying in shape” and that “Courteney is trying to get there herself and social media is where she goes for encouragement” as it’s “where she can make sure her legions of Scream fans approve of the effort she’s putting in.”
Is this a new beauty regime or is Gale Weathers set to go toe to toe with an even stronger Ghostface? It’s unclear, but either way, we don’t think she needs to worry too much — according to Scream VI, all you need to survive is some good old-fashioned plot armor.
There’s no release date for Scream 7.
Are you excited about Scream 7? Let Inside the Magic know in the comments down below!