Spyglass Media and Paramount Pictures once intended to make a Scream 7 that would have starred Scream (2022) and Scream VI leads Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, with Freaky and Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon at the helm. But then Ortega allegedly asked for a substantial pay raise – and as we saw when Neve Campbell dropped out of Scream VI due to a pay dispute, these pay issues don’t tend to work out. Then Barrera was fired from the project after comments she made about the Israel-Hamas war didn’t go over well with executives at Spyglass. Landon dropped out the of the project soon after. So Scream 7 has been re-developed, Campbell has signed on to return as franchise heroine Sidney Prescott – and while Sidney only had a supporting role in Scream (2022), Campbell has confirmed that she is the lead character in this reworked version of Scream 7.

During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Campbell was asked if Sidney will be front and center this time around. She confirmed, “We’re going to follow Sidney.” She went on to say, “I love these movies, they are so much fun to be a part of, I’m so grateful for them, I could never have imagined being a part of a movie that would have lasted this many decades. The fandom is nuts, they are incredible and very passionate about these films. I’m excited to give them a new one!“

Kevin Williamson, who wrote the screenplay for the original Scream, is set to direct this new sequel. In addition to writing the original Scream, Williamson has also written I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream 2, The Faculty, and Halloween H20 (where his script contributions were uncredited). He wrote the initial drafts of Scream 3 and Scream 4, then those both received some major rewrites. For Scream 7, he’ll be working from a screenplay by 2022’s Scream and Scream VI writer Guy Busick, who crafted the story with his co-writer on the fifth and sixth films, James Vanderbilt. (Vanderbilt is also a producer on the most recent sequels.) Williamson made his directing debut with the 1999 thriller Teaching Mrs. Tingle. Twenty-five years later, Scream 7 will be his second directing credit.

Campbell told Entertainment Tonight that she hasn’t seen a final script yet, but is hoping to receive it this week. Then filming is expected to begin in December.

We’ve heard that executives were hoping to get her Scream 3 co-star Patrick Dempsey to join her in this one, reprising the role of LAPD Detective Mark Kincaid – and while we still don’t have confirmation on whether or not Dempsey will be involved, we do know for sure that Courteney Cox is locked in to return as author and reporter Gale Weathers… which makes sense, because Cox has never missed out on any of these movies. When asked if Dempsey will be involved with Scream 7, Campbell would only say, “Mayhaps.“

Are you looking forward to Scream 7, and are you glad to hear that Sidney Prescott is back in the lead? Let us know by leaving a comment below.

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