It’s going to take a while, but eventually audiences everywhere will once again be saying “Hello, Sidney.” Paramount and Spyglass have just given the seventh installment in the Scream franchise a release date of February 27, 2026; as was previously reported, it will star Neve Campbell and be directed by franchise creator Kevin Williamson. That’s just about three years after the previous installment, which itself came just a year after the fifth installment.
So why the delay this time? Well, Scream 7 has had quite the ups and downs, many of which played out in the media. It all started with Melissa Barrera, star of the fifth and sixth films, speaking out in support of Palestine, which saw her fired from the project. Co-star Jenna Ortega also left, though that was unrelated, and as a result director Christopher Landon also exited. The project seemed deader than a Ghostface victim until Campbell, the franchise’s original star who didn’t return for part six over salary disputes, announced she was coming back and bringing Williamson along with her. Here’s her social media post announcing the news.
Since Campbell was announced to return, her co-star Courteney Cox also joined the cast, and there have even been very unconfirmed, very speculative rumblings that the producers have mended things with Barrera too—but, again, that’s just a rumor. What’s not a rumor now, of course, is this release date which means things are full speed ahead on the film. Spyglass confirmed the release date to io9, along with Williamson and Campbell’s involvement. Guy Busick (who co-wrote Scream 5 and 6) is writing and previous directors Radio Silence are executive producers.
Which brings us to the question of what the heck is Scream 7 going to be about? A few months back, I speculated wildly about an idea I really liked which was that Scream 7 not be the continuation of the story from the previous two films, but instead a super-meta story about the drama making this movie itself. Think about everything you’ve read above. That sure sounds like the plot of a Scream movie. Stars being fired, directors leaving, heroes returning, etc. That could be a whole lot of fun and if anyone could pull it off, it would be Kevin Williamson, who has always been a step or two ahead of the curve when it comes to audience expectations.
We’ll find out—well, not that soon, but soon enough. Scream 7, starring Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and Ghostface is coming to theaters February 27, 2026.
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