What separates the Scream movies from other slasher franchises is the mystery. Rather than following sequel after sequel of an unstoppable hulk like Michael Myers or Jason Voorhees hacking their way through everyone in front of them, Wes Craven created a series that relied on a different, very human person (or two or three) being behind the Ghostface mask in every movie, with the audience trying to figure out who the killer was. No Scream film has ever been gutsy enough to put the knife in the hand of one of its main protagonists, but according to Skeet Ulrich in a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, Scream 7 would have seen the ghostly presence of Billy Loomis push his daughter Sam (Melissa Barrera) to a dark side there was no coming back from.
Sam Carpenter Was Going To Be Revealed as ‘Scream 7’s Ghostface
The most shocking part of 2022’s Scream (let’s just call it Scream 5) wasn’t the reveal of who Ghostface was, but the return of one of the original Ghostfaces, Billy Loomis. His appearance should have been impossible, as Billy was very much dead with a bullet to the head at the end of the first Scream, but in Scream 5,he comes back as a ghostly vision seen by his daughter, Sam Carpenter (Barrera). Although she’s our new main final girl, Sam is deeply haunted by the fact that her daddy was pure evil and started this never-ending chaos.
Ulrich told Entertainment Weekly what the original plan was for Billy and Sam, saying, “When we talked about coming back for 5, it was a three-picture arc for Billy Loomis to slowly turn his daughter into the killer. Obviously, those things didn’t pan out, given certain things that happened.”
Melissa Barrera’s Firing Forced the Franchise To Change Its Plan
Melissa Barrera returned for Scream 6 in 2023, which ended with another trio of Ghostfaces taken out, but held on a final shot of Sam holding a Ghostface mask and looking at it before throwing it to the ground. Was this the tease of where Sam was headed? That’s a question that will never be answered.
He’s a Scream King for a reason.
If you’re a fan of the Scream franchise or just closely follow the news, you know exactly what Ulrich is talking about with “given certain things that happened.” After already being announced for Scream 7, now with Christopher Landon replacing Radio Silence in the director’s chair, Barrera was fired by Spyglass Media, who interpreted her social media comments opposing Israel’s attacks on Gaza as being anti-Semitic and inciting hate. With their top star of the new cast out, and Jenna Ortega and Landon quickly following behind her, Scream 7 was forced to abandon what it had spent two movies building. They now had to go back to the drawing board to think of something new, but instead, it looks like they’ve decided to simply repeat the past.
‘Scream 7’ Brought Back Neve Campbell for More of the Same
Scream 6 was a big hit even though it was the first time that Neve Campbell didn’t appear as her iconic final girl character, Sidney Loomis. With Campbell declining to come back over a pay dispute, it was up to the likes of Barrera, Ortega, and others to carry the weight. They did so seamlessly, leading to a film that felt fresher and finally gave its frequent heroine a chance to rest.
With Barrera gone, there was only one way Scream 7 could ever happen: Neve Campbell had to return. That’s exactly what we’re getting next year, but as great as it’ll be to see her back, it’s also tainted with disappointment. Not only is there a controversy that will force fans to choose sides, but bringing back Sidney Prescott reeks of desperation. This time ,she has a teenage daughter, fittingly named Tatum (Isabel May), who will fight by her side (it’s like Halloween 2018 all over again), but Scream 7 is depending on intrigue about its cast to put butts in theater seats. With the likes of Matthew Lillard and actors behind other dead Ghostfaces announced, fans will want to see if Stu Macher is still alive, or if this is all only about the rumored AI plot.
Scream 7 would have been much more worthwhile if it had the chance to break its own rules and do something outside the box. We’ve never had a Scream film that showed what trauma could really do to a main character. Sidney Prescott moved away and went into hiding a few times, but she was able to continue on. What if Sam Carpenter wasn’t able to, leading to her trauma breaking her and turning the hero into the villain? Now that’s a Ghostface reveal no one would forget.
Scream 7 comes to theaters on February 27, 2026.
- Release Date
-
February 27, 2026
- Director
-
Kevin Williamson
- Writers
-
Guy Busick
- Producers
-
William Sherak, Paul Neinstein
-
-
Courteney Cox
Gale Weathers
-
-
Jasmin Savoy Brown
Mindy Meeks-Martin
