Summary
Scream 7looks set to be based around the legacy characters, with Sidney Prescott being the focus once again, and Gale Weathers and Mark Kincaid also likely to return.The 1996 originalsaw Sidney, Gale, Dewey and Randy all survive the Ghostface attacks, butthere was also another character who survived, but is rarely mentioned.Neil Prescott is Sidney’s father, and he was originally framed for the murders, after being kidnapped by Billy and Stu.
Neil Prescott should return inScream 7, as he is a vital link to Sidney’s past and the lore of the franchise.He hasn’t been seen or even mentioned sinceScream 3, but he could fill in a lot of blanks inScream 7, as he was married to Maureen Prescott, and also suffered immense trauma at the hands of the originalGhostface killers. Not to mention, he’s had to suffer as his daughter, Sidney, has fought off subsequent attacks from different characters donning the Ghostface mask in the sequels.
What happened to Neil Prescott in Scream?
Neil Prescott (Lawrence Hecht) appears inScreamfor the first time, when he knocks on Sidney’s bedroom door, when he hears screaming after Billy Loomis climbs through her window to break her underwear rule. Neil tells Sidney that he’s going away on business, and will be gone for the weekend. This is whenNeil becomes the biggest red herring of the movie, when the police can’t get hold of him during the murder spree, and the phone calls from Ghostface appear to be from his phone. Suspicions were raised about Neil due to the killings taking place in the lead up to the anniversary of his wife,Maureen Prescott’s murder.
DuringScene 118, Dewey and Gale discover Neil’s abandoned car in the area surrounding Stu’s house, and they head back to the sprawling mansion to investigate. Turns out, Billy and Stu had kidnapped Neil shortly after he told Sidney he was going away on business. The plan was to frame Neil for the murders. Stu brings him out during the final reveal, bound and gagged, but after the Ghostface killers are defeated,Neil is untied by Sidney, and he survives the ordeal.
What was the original plan for Neil Prescott in Scream 4?
There is no sign of Neil Prescott inScream 2, but he does make a short appearance inScream 3, when he visits Sidney at her cabin in the middle of nowhere, and tries to persuade her to come home to Woodsboro. She makes it known she has no intention of returning to the town where she was nearly killed, and that’s the last time fans ever saw or heard anything about Neil Prescott in the Scream franchise. However,Scream 4had a particular plan for Neil that never came to fruition.
Over a decade has passed since the events ofScream 3, when Sidney returns to Woodsboro, which coincides with the 15th anniversary of the original Ghostface murders, and the start of a brand new Ghostface murder spree. But Neil Prescott is nowhere to be seen, and Sidney stays with her Aunt Kate and cousin, Jill Roberts, during her visit.There was originally a scene between Dewey and Gale that revealed Neil had died in between the events ofScream 3andScream 4, but it was cut from the movie, leaving Neil’s fate ambiguous.
What good is it to be a survivor if everyone close to you is dead?
Ghostface taunts Sidney on the phone duringScream 4, claiming that everyone close to her is dead. This could allude to Neil’s death, or it could just relate to the many friends who have been killed by different Ghostface killers over the years, as well as the murder of her mother.If Neil did die, it was a non-violent death not related to Ghostface.However, Jill Roberts is revealed to be one of the killers, and she would have knowledge of her uncle’s passing, and would likely use it against Sidney in the taunting phone calls.
What could happen to Neil Prescott if he came back in Scream 7?
Wes Craven’s decision to omit the scene that revealed Neil Prescott’s death inScream 4was rumored to be down to re-shoots and rewrites.However, Craven did reveal during promotional material forScream 4, that Neil had passed away between the events ofScream 3and the 2011 sequel.
Despite Craven’s revelation,Neil Prescott couldreturn for Sidney’s next Ghostface battle inScream 7as nothing has officially been stated about his death in any of the sequels.The upcoming sequel is set to focus onSidney’s family, so there could be an opportunity for her father to return as a part of that plot point. If he was still alive, he would be a proud grandparent to Sidney and Mark Kincaid’s three children, and could be a guiding force for them inScream 7.
Alternatively, Neil could be killed by Ghostface in an attempt to coax Sidney out of hiding. Having said that,it could be a step too far to kill Sidney’s father, after she’d already suffered the brutal murder of her motherall those years ago. Another option could be that Neil Prescott has indeed passed away since the events ofScream 3, and won’t return.
