Scream 7: Everything We Know

Scream 7 is moving ahead with Christopher Landon at the helm – and here’s everything we know about the new sequel so far

Last year, Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media revived the Scream franchise with a new entry (the fifth) that was a box office hit, earning almost $139 million at the global box office. Fourteen months later, Scream VI came along – and became an even bigger hit, pulling in almost $169 million at the global box office, a number that was up there with the series’ heyday, when the first Scream and Scream 2 made just over $170 million. (Scream 3 also made over $160 million – only Scream 4 failed to crack $100 million.) So, of course, the companies are moving full steam ahead with Scream 7. There’s not much information available at this time, as the film’s progress has been slowed down by the lengthy writers strike (which is now over), but here’s Everything We Know about Scream 7… so far…

DIRECTOR

While the first four Scream films were directed by the late, great Wes Craven, Scream (2022) and Scream VI were both directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who form the Radio Silence team with producer Chad Villella. At the Scream VI premiere, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett were asked about the possibility of Scream 7 happening. They replied, “We hope (there will be a Scream 7). We want to be watching Scream movies, whether we’re involved or not, for the rest of our lives.” They wanted to direct the next sequel, but they got wrapped up in the making of their Universal Monster movie (a project that was once known as Dracula’s Daughter). Filming was underway, but was been impacted by the Screen Actors Guild strike. So to keep the project moving forward, Paramount and Spyglass have hired Freaky and Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon to take the helm.

Radio Silence remains attached to the project as executive producers. It’s not clear if Scream 2022 and Scream VI writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick will be writing the script, or if Landon will be writing it himself. His previous writing credits include Disturbia, Scouts Guide to the Zombie Apocalypse, Viral, Happy Death Day 2U, Freaky, We Have a Ghost, and multiple Paranormal Activity films.

NEVE CAMPBELL

Neve Campbell played heroine Sidney Prescott in the first five Scream films, and was expected to reprise the role of Scream VI… but then she dropped out of the sequel over a pay dispute. When asked if Campbell might be brought back for a Scream 7 or if the filmmakers had given up on her, Bettinelli-Olpin replied, “We’d never give up on her. We love Neve, and we love Sidney. So we’d love to be able to make another movie with her, and we’re not giving up.“ To get her back, they’d have to pay her what she feels her participation is worth – so we’ll have to wait and see if Paramount and Spyglass are willing to do that. Original Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson, who has been involved with several of the sequels in some capacity, has spoken out in support of Campbell. He said, “I totally respect her opinion… I know exactly where she’s coming from, I know her well. I love and adore her and that’s what she did. It’s right for her. I love everyone involved in Scream and all I can say is, pay her the money. That’s what I would do, I would give her the money.“

MELISSA BARRERA’S HOPES

Melissa Barrera entered the franchise with the fifth Scream as a character named Samantha Carpenter, who turns out to have been the daughter of original Ghostface killer Billy Loomis and Christina Carpenter, a character who has not yet appeared on screen in any of the films. Barrera was back as Sam in Scream VI and is likely to return for Scream 7 – and if she does, she’s hoping Christina will be showing up in the film as well. She even knows who she’d like to see play Christina: Salma Hayek!

Barrera also said she wants to the next sequel to explore Sam’s mental health, which has been on shaky ground in the two films she’s been in so far. She told Digital Spy, “There are so many places that [Sam] could go. That’s one of the reasons that, when I read the script for Scream 5, I was so interested in the character. There’s so much potential here of where she could go with her mental health – she’s just unpredictable. I find that that darkness in her makes her that much more interesting to play and to watch. She’s the hero but she’s also kind of the villain. It’s this contradiction in her that I find fascinating and, if we get to do another one, I would love to see. The writers have done a really good job with her up until this point, so I trust them just to know where to take her [in a way] that will be unexpected and cool for the fans.“

With the writers strike having come to an end, Scream 7 is probably being written right now, so hopefully we’ll know more about the film and Landon’s approach to the material very soon.