Scream 7has officially been green-lit, and it will seeFreakyandHappy Death Daydirector, Christopher Landon take the reins, with Radio Silence taking a step back as executive producers.Scream 6was a massive success, grossing over $168 million worldwide, so it was only a matter of time before they announced a sequel. It’s likely going to be billed as the final part of this new trilogy, which began withScreamin 2022.
Scream 6saw a number of characters return from the previous sequel, as well as some legacy characters from previous entries. Courteney Cox has played Gale Weathers in all six of the Scream films, and Hayden Panettiere made a surprise acting comeback in the most recent sequel as horror geek, Kirby Reed, last seen inScream 4. The big question surrounding this sequel is about who will return inScream 7, seen as there were so many survivors from Ghostface’s rampage in New York. And also, which characters from older entries are likely to return to the fold for potentially the last movie in the franchise.
Will Sidney Prescott return?
The big story leading up to the production ofScream 6, was the pay dispute between Paramount and Neve Campbell, which saw the Scream queen turn down the chance to reprise her iconic role of Sidney Prescott. Many considered this to be the death knell of the horror franchise, but her role inScream 5was very much to pass the torch to the next generation of Tara, Sam, Mindy and Chad.
The character of Sidney Prescott has been through so much over the years, having battledevery Ghostface killerover the years. Her omission from the newest film actually worked for the series, as much as her presence was missed. It made no logical sense for her to travel to New York to inject herself into the latestunresolved mystery. The only reason she returned to Woodsboro inScream 5, was to avengethe death of Dewey Riley.
Despite her absence fromScream 6, Neve Campbell is in negotiations to return for the upcomingScream 7, and it would be a welcome return for thelegendary final girl. Her absence was felt throughout the last film, so here’s hoping Paramount can come up with a fair deal to entice Campbell back for one final stab at Ghostface.
Will the Core 4 be the main focus?
One of the strongest aspects ofScream 6was the coining of the now legendary ‘Core 4’. The phrase was created by Chad Meeks-Martin, who acknowledges that Tara, Sam, Mindy and himself have become a strong team through their shared trauma in the last film.
All members of the ‘Core 4’ survived the New York slayings, even though many fans were surprised to see Chad carried out on a stretcher at the end of the film, despite being stabbed multiple times by two Ghostface killers. But how many times did Dewey Riley defy death, only to turn up alive in the final moments?
The new group of characters established themselves even further in the hearts and minds ofScreamfans all over the globe, and have become this generation’s legacy characters, replacing Sidney, Gale and Dewey from the earlier films. The torch has successfully been passed in the eyes of many fans, so it’s fully expected that they will return forScream 7, and once again be the main focus of the story.
Who else might return for Scream 7?
Gale Weathers finally got her first call with Ghostface inScream 6, and it very nearly ended in her death. ButGale is a strong final girl, and she survived within an inch of her life in a brutal attack in her luxury apartment. Gale is the character that links all theScreamfilms together, so it would’ve been a huge loss if she had perished in her most recent confrontation with Ghostface. There has been no official word on which characters will return forScream 7, but the franchise wouldn’t be the same without the career driven news reporter making an appearance. Gale’s role has significantly been reduced in the past two films, but her presence is still very much needed, especially if Sidney was to return.
Kirby Reed was one of the best supporting characters in the last film, and despite her own dice with death at the hands of Ghostface, she survived and offered her support to Sam and Tara in the future. This suggests she is well and truly up for another round with a new iteration of the masked killer inScream 7.
Sam’s new boyfriend, Danny, was the unsung hero ofScream 6, despite missing out on the direct confrontation with Ghostface as he wasn’t yet trusted to tag along with the Core 4. Don’t expect any change of name for the group to the ‘Core 5’ anytime soon, but Danny did earn his stripes by calling the police and ambulance services to provide support to the survivors at the end of the film. This act surely earned him a place on the team for the upcoming sequel.
It is believed that a script forScream 7has been completed by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, and with the writer’s strike coming to an end, and the actor’s strike not far off reaching an agreement, the latest sequel could go into production very soon.
