Summary
The blood is set to flow once again, as the delayedScream 7is finally back on track. Paramount’s horror franchise has come a long way since Wes Craven’s humble 1996 original, but with legendaryScreamscribe Kevin Williamson stepping up to directScream 7, there are hopes it will be another critical and commercial smash.
Despite the many murders acrossScream’s six-movie history, there’s an ever-decreasing crop of characters who’ve survived multiple run-ins with Ghostface. Only two of the core original characters are still alive. With Neve Campbell’s Sidney Campbell andCourteney Cox’s Gale Weathersreportedly back for more, fans are rightly worried they both won’t be making it out ofScream 7alive.
After much speculation, Courteney Cox is reportedly locked in asGale Weathers inScream 7. Following the high-profile departures of Melissa Barerra and Jenna Ortega from the franchise, Paramount is pulling out the big guns by bringing back a pair of veterans. Alongside Ghostface voice actor Roger L. Jackson, Cox will be the only actor to appear in all sevenScreammovies. But does that put her in the firing line for a shock death, or maybe even a jaw-dropping opening kill?
Sidney has settled into hermarried life with Mark Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey), withScream 6making a throwaway mention that she skipped town when Gale says,“She deserves to have her happy ending.”It will take something major to bring Sidney back into the fold, and while Mark’s murder could see her reunite with Gale, the death of the latter could also bring Sidney out of hiding. Either way, here’s hoping that Gale isn’t given the opening kill and can have some sort of arc before falling victim to Ghostface.
Despite Gale’s fan-favorite status, there’s a sense that her story could be coming to an end. It’s easy to forget thatScream 6was the first time she got one of those iconic Ghostface calls, and for a brief second, it looked like she was going to kick the bucket. Instead,Gale survivedScream 6and scraped through to live another day, much like Dewey (David Arquette) did in the originalScreamandScream 2. TheScreammovies have continued to show that no one is safe, with many still reeling from Dewey’s murder in 2022’sScream.
Williamson clearly isn’t averse to killing off main characters, after he confirmed he wantedDewey to die in 1996’sScream. This means fans are rightly worried that Gale is on the chopping block this time around. Dewey was given a suitably tragic arc in the fifth movie, and as well as being on his own, he had one too many run-ins with Ghostface. Gale is in danger of being put in a similar boat, especially after her last romantic interest was killed inScream 6. Had it just been Gale returning forScream 7, it might have given her some more plot armor, but as Ghostface mocked her in the last movie:
It was always all about poor sweet Sidney sucking up all the oxygen. Where does that lead you?
Killing Sidney would be altogether more shocking, but doesn’t make sense considering there isn’t currently a final girl and there was such furor thatCampbell didn’t appear inScream 6due to crumbling contract negotiations. Although no one thought Drew Barrymore’s Casey Becker would be the first kill, it set an important precedent for the entire series. Mason Gooding’s Chad is another potential opening kill, while Hayden Panettiere’s expected return as Kirby Reed would also be a shocker. Still, all of these would pale in comparison to the jaw-dropping murder of Gale.
While there’s no denying that killing Dewey got the shock factor it was going for, it remains a divisive plot twist that fans are still debating. There’s an argument thatScream 7needs tomake Gale Weathers great againafter her reduced role inScream 6, but it would be a shame to bring her back to her quippy best, only to kill her off. If (and it’s a big if) Gale survivesScream 7, she could have an even bigger role in the mythicalScream 8. But just like with Dewey, there’s a sense that she could be running out of time.
The Future of the Scream Franchise
Few long-running horror IPs have had quite as many stop-starts asScream. Whereas something likeAlienhas reinvented itself with crossovers and prequels,Screamhas remained pretty linear. Even though it seemed for a long time likeCraven’s troubledScream 3would be the end of the story in 2000, he returned for the much-hypedScream 4in 2011. Unfortunately,Scream 4wasn’t the box office hit it was pitched as, again leading to the series going on an extended hiatus. After Craven’s death in 2015, some saw it as a sign to letScreamlie.
Thankfully, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett took the reins for the fifth movie. The newScreamwas released in 2022 and coined the phrase ‘requel’ by going back to Woodsboro and back to basics. Although Campbell, Cox, and Arquette all appeared, the focus was on Barrera’s Sam as the ‘new’ Sidney. This was hammered home by Campbell sitting outScream 6, while Sam’s connection to the old days as thedaughter of Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich)made her the perfect replacement for Sidney.
There are already questions about whereScreamgoes from here and whetherScream 8is on the cards.Scream 7has faced a troubled production due to Barrera and Ortega’s departures, while critics are asking about where the series can go without theCore Four leading this latest generation. Despite characters like Sidney and Gale being great to fall back on, there still needs to be some new blood.Scream 4was criticized for killing off pretty much all of its new characters as it focused on the OGs. It all depends on whatScream 7sets up as a potential franchise future.
Even thoughScream 8hasn’t even been announced, there are calls for it to film back-to-back withScream 7to make up for the delayed release of the next chapter.Scream 7is supposedly hitting cinemas in February 2026, so there’s still quite a wait until fans will find out whether Gale, Sidney, or any of the other presumed returnees will be leaving in a body bag. Much likeScreamitself has come back from the dead numerous times, there’s a chance that Gale will have a new lease of life inScream 7. Still, if another of the OGs is destined for the grave, at least she’s had a good run.
