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Who’s Directing Scream 7? Where Scream 7’s Plot Could Take The Franchise
Summary
With 2023’s Scream 6 continuing on the beloved slasher franchise, fans are already eager for all the Scream 7 news. The original Scream was released in 1996 and revitalized the slasher genre while introducing a meta element to horror movies that changed the genre forever. Director Wes Craven returned to continue the story of Sidney Prescott and her friends being stalked by various Ghostface killers. Following Craven’s death, the franchise took a new direction with a new cast of young characters who were poised to carry the series forward, and the Scream 7 news so far indicates there are still plans for twists and turns in Ghostface’s story.
The Scream franchise has always stuck to a very reliable formula while also introducing new elements to keep audiences on their toes. However, trends set by the most recent iterations mean Scream 7 is one of the most potentially game-changing upcoming Scream movies there’s been so far. Scream 6 took the franchise to New York City for the first time and cemented sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter as the new protagonists of the series as they face off with a new Ghostface. The ending of Scream 6 certainly left the door open for the movies to continue with this new cast and there is already plenty of anticipation among fans to see where the classic horror franchise will go next with Scream 7 now in production.
Scream 7: Latest News
Along with Jenna Ortega departing the cast of Scream 7, many other changes have happened with the upcoming film’s ensemble. The aforementioned star who played Tara in Scream 5 and 6 will not be back for the next sequel due to scheduling conflicts with the Netflix series Wednesday. Her departure was followed closely by the firing of Melissa Barreras by Spyglass Entertainment over her comments on the ongoing Israel-Hamas War. Barreras has anchored the last two Scream films as Samantha.
With so much turnover in the cast of Scream 7, the production has reportedly set its sights on having franchise star Neve Campbell return alongside Patrick Dempsey who appeared in Scream 3. Campbell had departed the franchise before Scream 6 over salary negotiations, but Spyglass has now deemed it imperative that she and Dempsey return to lead the new film alongside long-time Scream star Courtney Cox. No active negotiations have happened yet, and it is unclear if previous pay disputes can be resolved.
Scream 7 Is Confirmed
Scream 7 is confirmed to be in development. The news came with the announcement that the franchise would see a change in directors. In August 2023, it was revealed that Radio Silence would not be returning for Scream 7 after having directed 2022’s Scream and Scream 6. Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day) will be taking over as director though there is no word yet on a Scream 7 release date.
Potential Scream 7 Cast
Though it is unclear who will return, it can now be definitively stated that Melissa Berrera and Jenna Ortega will not be reprising their roles in Scream 7. This leaves the fate of the “Core Four” in jeopardy, and it is uncertain if Jasmin Savoy Brown will return as Mindy alongside Mason Gooding as Chad. With such high-profile departures, Spyglass has made it their top priority to get franchise star Neve Campbell back in her familiar role as Sydney Prescott, though that hasn’t been confirmed. Additionally, Patrick Dempsey as Det. Mark Kincaid and Courtney Cox as Gale Weathers are also planned for Scream 7.
Neve Campbell left the cast of Scream 6 over salary negotiations.
Who’s Directing Scream 7?
Scream 7 has a new director at the helm. Scream 7 will be directed by Christopher Landon who is best-known in the horror genre for directing Happy Death Day and Freaky. The announcement means that the directing team of Radio Silence (Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin) will be stepping away from the Scream franchise after helping to revitalize it with 2022’s Scream. The duo returned for Scream 6 which became the highest-grossing movie in the franchise.
Though Radio Silence were clearly effective in bringing back the beloved slasher franchise, Landon feels like a good choice to replace them for directing Scream 7. The Scream movies have always had a comedic tone which is all over Landon’s previous movies. However, he also clearly has a love for the genre roots of slashers and has even been able to introduce other genre elements in them with Happy Death Day’s time loop story and Freaky’s body-swap story.
Where Scream 7’s Plot Could Take The Franchise
While no Scream 7 story details are known at this point, there are a lot of interesting directions the next chapter could go in. The departure of Barreras has put an end to Sam’s storyline, and the new movie will likely move on from her character. There are also some fun possibilities with returning characters being the perfect Ghostface in Scream 7. Scream 6 even included a nod to the popular fan theory that Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) from the original Scream did not actually die and could return.
It will also be interesting to see how Scream 7 sets itself apart as a piece of meta commentary as each Scream installment has had fun with setting the rules for the type of movie the characters find themselves in. The original Scream was about horror movies, Scream 2 was sequels, Scream 3 was trilogies, Scream 4 was reboots, 2022’s Scream was legacy sequels, and Scream 6 established itself as commentary on continuing franchises. That will be a hard one to expand on in Scream 7, especially as Scream 6 didn’t do a great job in defining the rules of a franchise.
