It may have gotten off to a rocky start, but it appears as if the seventh film in the Scream franchise is back on track after a series of unfortunate setbacks, and if all goes well, we could see another fan-favorite character return for the next sequel. Happy Death Day’s Christopher Landon was initially set to direct the sequel, but he departed the project late in 2023 following the firing of star Melissa Barrera a month earlier, and the exit of Jenna Ortega shortly after that. Original Scream writer Kevin Williamson has since taken over, with the movie expected to arrive on February 27, 2026.
Neve Campbell has already signed on to once again reprise her iconic role of Sidney Prescott, and now it looks as if we might get an appearance from Patrick Dempsey in Scream 7 as well. The Grey’s Anatomy star hasn’t been seen in the franchise since Scream 3, where he portrayed Detective Mark Kincaid. He was mentioned in the 2022 Scream reboot when it was revealed that he’s now Sidney’s husband, and was said to be “in hiding” by the time we got to Scream 6. Appearing on Today (seen below), Dempsey played things a little coy when it comes to his role in the latest sequel, but he did admit that there have at least been discussions about his potential return.
“I’m waiting on the script. There has been a conversation about it. I haven’t seen anything yet, so we’ll see what happens. But, Neve was actually on the show, she played my sister on Grey’s Anatomy, and then we worked together almost 26, 27 years ago. It was ’99, ’98, when we did that.”
What Is Scream 7 About?
Seeing as how Scream 7 is still in the early stages of development and a date has yet to be set for when principal photography might begin, its plot remains a mystery for now. With that being said, Campbell recently divulged that the reason she decided to return to the franchise is because the next movie is “going to follow Sidney,” so we at least know she’ll be the main focus, though where it fits in the overall timeline of things remains to be seen.
Thus far, no one else from the series has followed in Campbell’s footsteps, as Courtney Cox revealed a month ago that she has yet to sign on to appear, which means if she doesn’t play a role in the next movie, it will be the first in the franchise to not feature her character Gale Weathers. David Arquette’s Dewey Riley was killed off in the 2022 reboot, much to the chagrin of fans, though like Cox, his character has been such a staple in the series that Williamson could devise a way for him to return by either setting the next film before his death, or by coming up with some clever reasoning as to why he isn’t really dead.
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Either way, it’s nice to finally see that things are progressing forward after a tumultuous 2023 for the Scream saga. Hopefully, this is a sign of things to come and fans won’t be hit with any more delays that might set the film back once more. We’ll keep our fingers crossed, because with Williamson back front and center instead of just serving as an executive producer, there’s a good chance that Scream 7 could be one of the series’ finest entries yet.
- Release Date
- December 20, 1996