Summary
TheScreamfranchise has been one of the most consistent in horror history when it comes to entertaining quality, but the buildup toScream 7has been littered with issues and controversy, which has caused a level of apprehension among fans of Ghostface and the classic slasher movies.
While Melissa Barrera will not be returning, many familiar faces are set to be involved inScream 7. That is setting up to be problematic for the film, which has already dealt with production dilemmas and other problems that have proven it isn’t going to be smooth sailing this time around.
What Risk Is Scream 7 Taking?
TheScreamfranchise has always done a good job ofbringing back familiar charactersin each movie as the series of films has developed. Different actors have returned each time, which has allowed the story to follow on from the previous one to create one long-running plot that audiences can invest in. Even though each movie works well as a stand-alone, the more films people have watched, the greater the benefit they will gain from each one.
Scream 7isn’t going to be any differentin that regard, as several actors are now confirmed to be returning from a whole host of different movies within the franchise. Despite not being involved in the previous movie, Neve Campbell is set to be reprising her role as Sidney Prescott, which could be an interesting twist given she’s typically seen as the face of the franchise, butScreamhas tried to pivot to younger actors in recent years. However, the upcoming film dealt a hammer blow when it was revealed that Jenna Ortega could not return while Barrera was fired, which meant that plans clearly had to be shifted quickly.
That has led to risks being taken, with actors from different franchises being brought back, which does seem like a slightly desperate move to capture the attention of fans. Having people from all across the franchise appear,from Courtney Cox to Mason Gooding, the blend could end up causing some confusion, especially if audiences haven’t watched all of the movies up until this point.
Why It Could Become Messy
Bringing actors back from the original movie and stars from the more recent films is something that could be seen as ticking every box possible, as there will be familiar faces for fans of the entire franchise. However, this could be causing the creative team a big headache because it has the chance to get very messy very quickly. The problem is that certain characters have been out of the picture for a while; therefore, thrusting them back into the story that is nowimpacting the newer characterscould feel jarring because there’s a chance that it wouldn’t make sense within the storyline that audiences have been watching.
It might be good fan serviceto have Campbell in the film, but she doesn’t have a clear connection to some of the characters in the latest movie. To make this work, the stories from the entire franchise are going to have to come together in a way that feels authentic, but it could also be a case of characters fighting for screen time and not being developed enough. There are also new characters to consider, and continuing to inflate the cast is going to create a difficult scenario to ensure everyone has an impact.
Can It Work?
Screamhas provided consistent quality so far, so people are still interested in the franchise even though there are repeatable beats. If there’s a story that makes sense for having everyone being thrust together, then it could work. There’s an opportunity to provide fun nods to past movies and moments that have helped make the franchise as popular as it is while driving the story forward for potential new films. But it is going to be tough for everyone involved to navigate. There will be extreme pressure on the story to be something people want to see, which ultimately makes sense within the universe that already exists because anything short of that will cause significant issues to this making sense in terms of the casting.
Having different characters returning from across the franchise does open up a huge possibility of the movie being disjointed and messy. It’s going to be crucial that a story is created that will give a clear and understandable reason as to why they would all be back in this world withanother Ghostface causing problemsthat want to cause devastation to all of them. If that’s achieved, then it could end up being a special film that doesn’t just feel like nostalgia but has an actual purpose to wrap up exciting storylines with characters that are genuinely beloved, which could allowScream 7to be an unforgettable horror entry.
