After sitting out the last film, Neve Campbell is back in the lead role of Scream 7.
The move reeked of desperation for the franchise. After all, despite Campbell's notable absence in the sixth film, Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega were positioned as the new faces of the franchise.
But relying on Campbell is never a bad thing. And there are some exciting story opportunities with her return.
How Scream 7 fell apart
The first big exit was Barrera. She played Sam Carpenter in the fifth and sixth films, the new lead of the franchise. In November 2023, Barrera was fired from the project due to social media posts on the Israel-Hamas conflict.
That meant it was time for Ortega's Tara Carpenter to step up to the plate. Inserting Ortega into the lead role is nothing to scoff at, but Ortega left the project soon after, citing scheduling issues. And then, to make matters worse, director Christopher Landon also dropped out of the sequel.
It looked like all hope was lost. Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown) and Chad (Mason Gooding) Meeks-Martin seemed like the next duo to step up as the lead of the series. They could still return, but they were never positioned as the faces of the series.
Neve Campbell's return
Neve Campbell sat out Scream 6 due to contract disputes. The face of the entire franchise was not being properly paid as so. It's understandable why she didn't return. It still left a void in the fifth film.
Especially considering it placed more pressure on the shoulders of Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox). Gale, Sidney Prescott (Campbell), and Dewey Riley (David Arquette) all returned in the fifth film. However, Dewey ultimately bit the bullet and died in the film.
When Campbell didn't return for Scream 6, it left Gale as the sole familiar face from the OG films. She stepped in admirably, but the throwaway line that wrote out Sidney for the story left the door open for a potential return.
On March 12, Campbell returned she is coming back for Scream 7. In the announcement, Kevin Williamson — who created the franchise — was announced as the director of the film. That provides some hope that the seventh film isn't a disaster.
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It would appear Campbell has been appropriately paid for her comeback. Sidney Prescott is the ultimate “final girl” in the horror genre. Campbell is a major reason why the character has endeared herself to fans.
What Scream 7 could look like
After Scream 6 took the Core Four to the Big Apple, I'd imagine the seventh film will return to Woodsboro. It was fun seeing Ghostface in a new setting, but a return to the small town would be ideal.
Working off the assumption Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega don't make shocking returns to the franchise, Campbell's Sidney Prescott will presumably be the leading face of the film.
In the fifth film, it's revealed that Sidney now has a family. She will have to be drawn to Woodsboro once again due to another Ghostface reemergence. The hardest part will be justifying her return.
Scream 4 and 5 both had to bring Sidney back for one reason or another. There really has to be a strong hook, and maybe that's once again Gale Weathers being the target of the latest Ghostface. That's her real last connective tissue remaining in the town, especially now that Sam and Tara are out of the equation.
Had Barrera and Ortega remained on the project, there would have been interesting opportunities to explore Sam's dark side. After all, she is the illegitimate daughter of Billy Loomis, one of the original Ghostfaces and Sidney's boyfriend. She showed signs of weakness in the sixth film, and it's a bummer we may never get closure on that storyline.
Will Sidney finally turn bad?
However, that opens the door for Scream 7 potentially exploring Sidney's dark side. She must be traumatized after being targeted by several Ghostfaces at this point in her life. Perhaps that drove her to the edge.
It'd be divisive, sure. But logically, it's hard to envision any other outcome. Granted, we don't know the cast of characters in the film. Scream 7 may introduce a new slew of high schoolers that Sidney has to guide. That'd open the door for a new face to be Ghostface. Just please don't bring back someone from Sidney's past to be Ghostface. At this point, her role in the franchise is as a mentor, not the final girl.
The one thing Scream 7 cannot do is kill off Campbell in the opening moments. That'd be even more shocking than her being Ghostface. But that short adrenaline rush would cost the film going forward. We don't even know who is going to lead the film — why take out your biggest asset?
The only redeemable way to salvage such a big swing would be to have Sidney's death be a swerve. Perhaps at the end of the film, it's revealed that she is one of the Ghostfaces.
Regardless, Neve Campbell's return in Scream 7 is a worthy reason to watch it. Hopefully, Kevin Williamson can find the right story for her.
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