Courteney Cox is officially set to return for ‘Scream 7’
Courteney Cox is officially back for Scream 7, weeks after she said her return wasn’t officially set in stone.
Variety reported yesterday (December 18) that Cox will reprise her role as journalist Gale Weathers – the only character to appear in every Scream movie to date – in the upcoming movie, which is set for release in 2026.
In September, Cox explained that she wasn’t tied to the project, explaining: “I’m not officially signed on. I’m not, but there will be a Scream 7.”
However, she said at the time that she was excited to see Kevin Williamson, who wrote the script for the first movie, directing the seventh. “You can’t get better than that choice,” she said. “It’s going to be fun.”
At the time, she added: “They’re rewriting all the time. It’s not like I don’t know what’s going on,” while she also voiced hope that her ex-husband David Arquette’s character Dewey could return after he was killed off in the fifth movie.
Meanwhile, Scream 7 has encountered a few difficulties in production. It was affected by the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes, while original director Christopher Landon ended his involvement with the movie in 2023.
Lead actress Melissa Barrera was dropped from Scream 7 last year after posting on Instagram in support of Palestine. She discussed feeling “lonely and scared” after being fired, but has also said that she is “at peace” with how it unfolded.
It was announced around the same time that Jenna Ortega wouldn’t be returning, either, due to scheduling conflicts with her Netflix series Wednesday as well as salary disputes.
However, Neve Campbell, who plays Sidney Prescott in the series, is set to reprise her role after dropping out of 2023’s Scream 6. Mason Gooding will return as Chad Meeks-Martin, too, while Isabel May will play Sidney’s daughter. Anna Camp has also been announced, while fellow newcomers include Celeste O’Connor, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace and Sam Rechner.
In a four-star review of Scream 6, NME wrote: “Scream VI isn’t perfect: the constant meta references (past killers, the ‘rules’ of the franchise) felt inventive in last year’s reboot, but here grow tiresome. There’s also a confusing subplot around Sam’s suppressed desire to emulate her dad (Billy Loomis, the original Ghostface), who appears in hallucinations telling her to murder people.
“Throw in the usual exposition sessions, which keep the viewer up to date on the plot but make it feel like a Gen Z Poirot, and it could all start to get on your nerves. Luckily, such is the sheer, bloody joy of the thing that you’ll be too preoccupied to notice. Maybe more horror baddies should move to New York?”
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Adam England
NME
