After looking like it may not happen at all, Scream VII is now shaping up to be a bit of a reunion for the franchise, with Courteney Cox — the only actor to appear in all six previous Screams — reportedly looking to star in the seventh film as well, and to co-star once again with another long-time Scream actor, Neve Campbell.
Campbell skipped 2023’s Scream VI, after claiming publicly that after working “extremely hard in my career to establish my value” she “felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.” Even without Campbell, Scream VI became a box-office hit, and the studio quickly made plans to produce a Scream VII.
But then both of the younger stars introduced in the sixth film as replacements for the older original casts left the project. Melissa Barrera was fired, reportedly after she made posts in support of Palestine that were accused of being antisemitic. Jenna Ortega quit when it was decided she would be too busy working on a new season of Wednesday to commit to the film. During this period, the director hired to shoot the film, Christopher Landon, dropped out of the project as well. (“It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare,” he said in a public post.)
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With the sequel quickly falling apart, producers clearly became more convinced of Campell’s value to the franchise, and a few weeks ago she announced she would star in Scream VII, which would be directed by franchise co-creator Kevin Williamson. And now, according to Variety, Cox is “in talks to reprise the role of Gale Weathers in the seventh movie of the slasher series” as well.
It is interesting that after Scream (5) went so far to establish a new legacyquel cast of younger actors, and then Scream VI focused so closely on them again, Scream VII is looking more and more like it will be more about those original stars again.
Scream VII does not yet have an official release date.
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When franchises unite, a lot can go wrong. When it works out, the results are quite entertaining.
