The beloved horror franchise based on Scream (1996) is currently in production for it's seventh film which is already partnered with major controversy. Previous to the current production beloved, lead actress and iconic final girl Neve Campbell, who plays Sidney Prescott, did not participate in the sixth film due to payment disputes. This lead to high criticism from the fan base for Campbell being undervalued by the production team. Scream VI was the first film that did not feature Campbell, forcing the franchise to dive into the deep end of a new era of Scream, bringing in a fresh set of rules that took the 90s classic into new-world horror.
Creating a new focus on the Carpenter sisters portrayed by Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, the most recent installment featured some of the few remaining legacy characters, such as Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) and Kirby Reed (Hayden Penettiere). To supplicate the loss of Prescott and lack of legacy options, there was the purposeful creation of the "Core Four" in relation to Ortega and Barrera's characters, along with Scream(2022) survivors Chad (Mason Gooding) and Mindy (Jasmin Savoy-Brown). This sense of character unity was supposed to be reaffirming to the survival of the franchise outside of Campbell.
With Barrera's vocal advocacy for Palestinian rights and criticism of the western world's indulgence in unregulated warfare against the Palestinian population, she was removed by Spyglass Media Group from the upcoming Scream Franchise production. Falsely equating her Palestinian support for antisemitic speech, she was removed to the great disappointment of the fans. Rather quickly following this news, Ortega's team announced that due to scheduling conflicts, that she would not be returning for the Scream 7, effectively stripping the franchise of any of their trademarked final girls to focus on. Recently Savoy-Brown even opened up to Entertainment Tonight, revealing that she had not been contacted for the Scream 7 production. Savoy-Brown has voiced her own support for the Palestinian citizens over her personal Instagram, possibly contributing to the lack of contact. Three of the four Core-Four members are loved female leads that were marketed not only as the meta horror tropes that mirror the original archetypal cast, but as women that could carry the burden of strong female representation in slasher media.
The meta aspect of declining film franchises is becoming all too real for the production team. Barrera's character was not only tied to the original killer Billy Loomis, but she's a strong voice in Hollywood's young Hispanic actresses. Her contributions to the horror genre continue as she starred in Tubi's Original Film Bed Rest (2022) and is on the cast for a film premiering April 2024, titled Abigail. Ortega has a long history of popularity, from her childhood acting on Disney Channel, her popularity exploding to new heights due to her starring the role of Wednesday Addams on Netflix's Wednesday. Jasmine Savoy-Brown is fresh off of a Gladd Award win for Yellow Jackets and continues to take roles that uplift queer characters of color. These actresses are major losses for more than sentimental reasons.
Knowing that these contracts are suspended, or simply unoffered, the franchise had utilized the now cushioned cast budget to re-engage with Campbell, securing her to the upcoming film. With the rapid casting changes, the Scream Franchise has a lot of items to rearrange from the work that was done to rebrand the direction of the film franchise. Through not-so-subtle dialogue from Scream VI, it was confirmed that Sidney had married Scream 3 hottie, Detective Mark Kinkaid played by Grey's Anatomy veteran Patrick Dempsey. McDreamy has not been publicly declared on the cast list to date. In the previous films' scripts there was also the insinuation that the pair have children, possibly creating a new set of teens to focus on, keeping the teen slasher trademark alive.
There's a lot of plot options that writers Guy Busick and James Vanderbilt could take, but there are far less avenues that will be good enough to justify the hard turn of the franchise. With the very plausible impacts of Palestinian ally boycotts continuing that were already targeted at SpyGlass's Thanksgiving (2023), and the critical eye of hard core Scream fans, Scream 7 has a lot to prove. But since everything else is under wraps, here are seven predictions for the seventh installment.
1)Sidney's Teens
Previously mentioned, there's a lot of room for the teens to be re-introduced through Sidney's children. Seeing that the actress and character are old enough to have teenage children, it's not too far fetched. Especially if her teenage kid or kids are entering high school or showing similar ages to when Sidney was first attacked in Scream (1996). Considering that Sidney married a cop and has a crazy survival record of her own, it's safe to say that this film could take place far away from Woodsboro. Scream VI ventured to New York, creating a whole new and unfamiliar playing field that took Ghost Face to a completely new level.
2)Here's Stu!
Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard), one of the original killers from the 1996 classic has been teased by returning cast member Hayden Penettiere, who plays Kirby, no longer the raging kid that speeds, she's FBI and a damn good shot (even with a serious head wound). Even if Stu himself doesn't return, there's always room for a distant relative, maybe a niece/nephew, deranged kid, or even a copy cat killer like we saw in Scream (2022). Billy Loomis had his great return through Barrera's character Sam Carpenter and the second set of killer's that featured his mother. It's more than plausible that Stu or another killer's relation could return.
3)Chad
Whether he's the killer or one of the only core-four that makes it to final cut, there's a small chance that we could see him appear in the film. Much like other dialogue has been used to explain character absence, he would be a good mouth piece for the missing members. In terms of him being the killer, I personally think this is slim in probability as it would be against his character psyche. Not only was his uncle Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) who was killed in the second film, but he has survived two Ghost Face attackers of his own, by sheer brute force and unlimited golden retriever energy. Either way, Mason Gooding was a phenomenal addition to the Scream-verse and if he doesn't return, will be missed by those that watch the film.
4)Gale's Death
Gale has been an iconic character from beginning to end, no matter how short her bangs got. Courtney Cox embodied the bad-ass opportunist, opposing her darling persona that was created through her work as Monica Geller on "FRIENDS". Gale has survived all of the Scream films, despite losing two camera men, and two lovers. We have watched her relationship with Sidney go through a complex process that ended at some twisted relationship that made them trust each other. Unfortunately for Gale there's not a huge amount of legacy characters left for big losses so she is on the chopping block. There's also the possibility that Gale is dead at the start of the film, and could be the reason Sidney returns to Woodsboro.
5) The Forgotten Uncle
Okay I'll have to explain. In Scream 4, Emma Robert's takes on the role of Jill, Sidney's kid cousin that ends up being a killer queen. Her killing spree included the death of her friends and her own mother! This mother happened to be Sidney's aunt. As we all know it takes two to tango - could Jill's father come back from the land of dead beats to avenge his daughter's death? Maybe it's too far fetched, but that's why it would be brilliant! Scream has already had two different parents come to avenge their kids, Nancy Loomis and Detective Bailey. It would be repetitive but a great way to bring more of Sidney's family into the fold to re-focus on her and not the Carpenter girls.
6)Solo Killer
With a record high of three GhostFace killers seen in the last film, it might be nice to challenge the fact that there has only ever been one solo killer in the history of the franchise. That's it.
7)New Age Killers
This would undoubtedly be the end of the franchise if they went this route. I can't imagine a way for it to go bigger or be followed up on. In previous films we've seen fads and social commentary take place: discussions of horror impacting youth, fame-seeking killers, fan culture and even cancel culture in the most recent film. Since the franchise does not shy away from poking fun as social commentary, there might be an avenue for the conversations surrounding TikTok and other social media's to be a focal point. Whether that's a live streaming killer, or a large group of killers on a social network, there's room for it to happen. It would also continue to challenge the 90s slasher tropes, and see if old fashion final girls could kick butt in a new age killing spree.
No matter what route the new film takes, there's no way for this film to premiere without controversy being involved. For fans, the reintroduction of Neve is bitter-sweet, because the production company has treated valuable characters as interchangeable. The behavior is ironic considering that Scream was so important to female representation in horror and specifically slashers. Slashers have a history of treating women's bodies as objects of violence, or sexualization. Scream is praised for the genuinely brave but not-so-perfect female lead that didn't have to be a damsel or pure to be considered valuable enough, in the eyes of male-centric criteria, to live. And yet, the production company has lost sight of the value of their female leads, using them for fan service and franchise continuity rather than understanding the impact of the franchise and it's leads for horror history. So, whatever story they tell, it better be a good one.
There is currently no release date for Scream 7.