Summary
I don’t thinkScream 7is a good idea, but theScreamsequel might win me over with one concession. Theupcoming slasher sequelScream 7is pulling out all the stops to bring back fans of the franchise. AfterScream 2022andScream VIranked among thebestScreammovies ever, the franchise ran into trouble when stars Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera left the series in late 2023. Barrera was fired in November 2023 and Ortega exited the project shortly after, promptingHappy Death Day/Freakydirector Christopher Landon to subsequently leaveScream 7.
WhileNeve Campbell’s return as Sidney Prescott inScream 7was announced a few months later, this wasn’t enough to get me back on board.Scream 2022drastically reduced Sidney’s role in the series, clarifying that she was in a stable place and was no longer the center of the franchise.Scream 2022effectively passed the baton to Sam and Tara beforeScream VIcut Campbell’s characters altogether due to a pay dispute with the actor. As such, I was looking forward toScream 7’s resolution of Sam and Tara’s story, not a new, unrelated Sidney storyline.
Scream 7 Bringing Back Its Legacy Characters Isn’t Enough After Shocking Cast Exits
Scream 7 is shifting the franchise’s focus back to legacy characters, but this probably isn’t enough to make up for its shocking cast exits.
Scream 7 Should Be The Final Movie
Neve Campbell’s Return Must Mark The Slasher Franchise’s End
The news thatScream’s original screenwriter Kevin Williamson would take over directorial duties onScream 7was clearly an attempt to drum up hype for the franchise via fan nostalgia. However, this announcement ignored the fact that Williamson is better known as a screenwriter than a director. Dropping the new cast makes it very difficult for the series to continue past this next installment, soScream 7should be the finalScreammovie. This is about the only way that the project could pique my interest again after all the messy behind-the-scenes reshuffles.
Sidney’s surprisingly upbeat ending is inevitably going to be undone whenScream 7starts.
Scream 7seems doomed to be a letdown since the sequel has dropped its main characters and retconned Sidney’s happy ending. Not only willSam and Tara’sScreamstorylines never be resolvednow that they have vanished from the series, but Sidney’s surprisingly upbeat ending is inevitably going to be undone whenScream 7starts.Scream 7needs to hurt people close to Sidney so the sequel has stakes, but it will be difficult for the series to make this feel anything but excessively mean-spirited at this stage. Sidney has been through the wringer five times already.
Scream Has Already Ruined Sidney Prescott’s Happy Ending
The Scream Series Repeatedly Undid Sidney’s Happy Endings
Campbell’s iconicScreamseries heroine deserved a break back in 2011’sScream 4, let aloneScream 2022. Fortunately, the 2022 reboot did give Sidney a sense of closure that she was rudely denied after the endings ofScream 3andScream 4.Scream 2022revealed Sidney was in a happy relationship with herScream 3love interest, Mark Kincaid. Judging by the stroller she was pushing, she was also likely to be a relatively new parent.Scream VIavoided undoing this happy ending by keeping Sidney away from its gruesome story, soScream 7really needs to justify her return.
Sidney’s character arc needs a definitive sense of closure now thatScream 7is bringing her back.
I can’t imaginea version ofScream 7’s opening kill scenethat isn’t either too bleak or too tame. If Sidney’s love interest or children are killed off, this will make the series way too dark. However, if they survive, along with Courtney Cox’s returning Gale Weathers, then the once-brutal slasher franchise will feel gutless. Either way, Sidney’s character arc needs a definitive sense of closure now thatScream 7is bringing her back. It will be almost impossible to make Sidney’s story appropriately scary and simultaneously satisfying, so Campbell’s character at least deserves to rest after this outing.
How Likely Is It That Scream 7 Will End The Franchise
Scream 7 Seems Vanishingly Unlikely To End The Series
Unfortunately,I don’t think theScreamseries will end withScream 7, even though it really should.Scream VIearned a staggering $169 million at the box office afterScream 2022’s impressive $138 million, proving there was plenty of financial potential in the future of the series. The loss of Barrera and Ortega, both of whom are profitable stars, will likely hurtScream 7’s box office prospects. However, the series remains one of the most iconic slasher franchises in horror history.
Not only that, but the announcement ofI Know What You Did Last Summer’s upcoming rebootand 2024’s horror comedyY2Kprove that ‘90s horror nostalgia is not going anywhere yet. As such,Scream 7will likely serve as a springboard for further sequels, even though this isn’t a good idea for the series itself. I hope Sidney’s story gets a satisfying ending that lets the heroine of the series live in peace, but this dream seems increasingly out of reach. Thus,Scream 7ending the series is the only way for theScreamsequel to win me back.
