Summary
Scream 7is preparing to go into production in September 2024, with Neve Campbell signed on to return as Sidney Prescott, and Kevin Williamson set to direct the sixth sequel, after creating the horror franchise back in the 90s.Fans are theorizing about what kind of sequelScream 7will be, and whether it will feature any callbacks toScream 6.However, rumors are surfacing thatScream 7will likely focus on legacy characters, and possibly ignore the events ofScream (2022)andScream 6.
Scream 7looks set to feature a significant time jumpafterScream 6, and it also won’t feature Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega as Sam and Tara Carpenter, after the much publicized firing of Barrera, and Ortega’s departure due to scheduling conflicts. So,it’s no great surprise thatScream 7will carve out its own story not linked to the events in the previous two movies.
Scream 7 will likely focus on legacy characters and move away from the events of Scream (2022) and Scream 6
Fans of the Scream franchise were left reeling byMelissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega’s exits fromScream 7, after the success of the previous two movies. Despite this,a lot of fans were hoping and expecting there might be some references to what happened inScream (2022)andScream 6,but according to a recent video by YouTuber,Beyond The Mask, this doesn’t seem so likely.
The movie is very much the legacy sequel thatScream 5intended to be. It’s allegedly more faithful of a legacy sequel than what 5 was. It’s respectful but doesn’t rehash it like 5 did. The legacy of the franchise and the key players in the movie are the driving force of the story.
Beyond The Mask is an excellent content creator, who has been right before when it comes to leaks in the Scream franchise. These claims come from one of his sources, so it is very much a rumor at this point. However,it does seem quite feasible thatScream 7will focus on thelegacy characters in the franchise, with the major return of Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott.
It’s not so respectful to the last couple of movies in the sense that this doesn’t feel like a continuation ofScream 6, but more of a fresh reboot. So it doesn’t continue any themes or stories set up in 6 at all. It instead feels like whatScream 4was toScream 3. We knew it happened, but it wasn’t really brought up in the movie.
If this turns out to be true, it would be no great surprise, asScream 6looks like it was the end ofthe Carpenter sistersstory,at least for now. Even with continuing characters like Sidney, Dewey and Gale in Scream 1-4, each movie was its own separate entity, albeit with references to previous entries.Scream 3wasn’t referenced much at all inScream 4, sono mention ofScream 6inScream 7will not harm the franchise.
The Scream franchise has done very well to avoid retcons of events in the overall story,unlike the Halloween series, where David Gordon Green’s trilogy scraps all the previous sequels, withHalloween (2018)acting as a direct sequel to the 1978 original. As long as the Scream franchise avoids this kind of thing, it doesn’t matter which actors don’t return, and which plot points aren’t focused on. As long as every movie exists within the overall timeline, and it could potentially be referenced at some point in the future, the Scream franchise will retain its credibility.
How will the fans react to Scream (2022) and Scream 6 being ignored in Scream 7?
The reaction to the rumors ofScream 7ignoringScream 6, really depends on which generation of the fans the question is addressed to.There are a lot of legacy fans who are crying out forScream 7to focus on characters from the past,like Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers and Mark Kincaid. However, new fans of the Scream franchise will likely be disappointed thatScream 7might not reference the previous two movies. Beyond The Mask theorized about the potential effects ofScream 7ignoringScream 6:
If they are going for a time jump, then even Gale won’t really need to talk about the attacks in New York.
This is a valid point, and if, as expected, Courteney Cox does reprise her iconic role ofGale Weathers inScream 7, she doesn’t necessarily have to address the events ofScream 6, despite appearing in the movie.There is less reason for other characters inScream 7to mention the events ofScream 6, as they wouldn’t have even been involvedin that story.
I think it was kinda expected they wouldn’t really want to addressScream 6. After all, none of the characters are apparently coming back.
Sidney Prescott wasn’t involved in the New York City attacks inScream 6, soScream 7could feel more like a continuation ofScream 4,when the main focus was still on her character. There will also be brand-new characters introduced inScream 7, and the possibility of a new trilogy, which would removeScream (2022)andScream 6as direct canon, despite still existing in the overall timeline.
