The slasher sequel Scream 7 took a bumpy road to production, losing some cast members and directors along the way, but it has now made its way out into the world. The reaction is split (you can read a 5/10 review from Tyler Nichols HERE and an 8/10 second opinion review from Mike Conway at THIS LINK), but the box office is good, with the film setting the record for the highest opening weekend of the franchise. The numbers have taken a dive since then, but it didn’t even take three weeks for the movie to become the highest-grossing entry in the series.
Months before the release, we heard that the cast would include Matthew Lillard and Scott Foley, who played Ghostface killers in the original Scream and Scream 3, respectively, and did not appear to make it out of those movies alive. David Arquette also returned as the dearly departed Dewey, who exited the world of the living in the fifth movie. Now, director Kevin Williamson has revealed that he tried to get more actors to make cameos as their dead Ghostface characters.
Cast and Synopsis
Returning franchise heroine Neve Campbell, back in the role of Sidney Prescott, is joined in the cast by Isabel May of the Yellowstone prequel 1883, who has signed on to play Sidney’s daughter Tatum; Mckenna Grace of the Ghostbusters franchise, Grace’s Ghostbusters co-star Celeste O’Connor, Gen V‘s Asa Germann, The Fabelmans‘ Sam Rechner, Pitch Perfect‘s Anna Camp, Riverdale‘s Mark Consuelos, fellow franchise star Courteney Cox, who reprises the role of reporter / author Gale Weathers, Joel McHale (Community) as Sidney’s husband Mark Evans, and Ethan Embry (The Devil’s Candy). Although two of the “core four” characters established in the previous two movies are no longer around, Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown are back as Chad Meeks-Martin and Mindy Meeks-Martin.
Here’s the film’s official synopsis: When a new Ghostface killer emerges in the quiet town where Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has built a new life, her darkest fears are realized as her daughter (Isabel May) becomes the next target. Determined to protect her family, Sidney must face the horrors of her past to put an end to the bloodshed once and for all.
Cameos
In addition to Lillard, Foley, and Arquette’s characters making appearances, Scream 7 also features a cameo from Laurie Metcalf as her dead Ghostface character from Scream 2.
During an interview with Happy Horror Time, Williamson said (thanks to our friends at Bloody Disgusting for the transcription), that other cameos fell through. “Since it was Sidney related, I felt like 1 through 4 needed to be represented. I desperately wanted Emma Roberts. Because that movie’s not represented. And I wanted her so badly. And I asked her like three times. But… the schedule or something didn’t work. It just didn’t work out for her. She couldn’t make it.“
There’s one former Ghostface lost, but not the only one. Williamson said they also contacted Timothy Olyphant about appearing as his dead Scream 2 killer, “but he couldn’t do it.“
While I had heard that Lillard, Foley, and Arquette were in the movie before I saw it, the Laurie Metcalf cameo was a nice surprise. Olyphant would have been cool, but unnecessary since Metcalf was already representing Scream 2. It does feel like a loss that Emma Roberts didn’t show up, though, especially since her killer character from Scream 4 was Sidney’s cousin.
What do you think? Would cameos from Emma Roberts and/or Timothy Olyphant have added anything important to Scream 7?
The comment section exists to allow readers to discuss the article constructively and respectfully, focused on the topic at hand.
What’s Not Allowed