Summary
Scream 7is heading into production in September 2024, and fans are eager to know if Courteney Cox will be reprising the role of Gale Weathers, alongside Neve Campbell, who is confirmed to be returning as Sidney Prescott. Cox has been in every Scream movie and is heavily rumored to be coming back for the sixth sequel, but nothing has been confirmed. If the character of Gale Weathers does return,there is an opportunity to expand a plot point fromScream 4, which saw Gale struggling with writer’s block.
Gale’s lack of writing inspiration was a minor feature inScream 4, butScream 7could turn it into a major plot point, and it could possibly lead to aGhostface motive linked to Gale. Kevin Williamson will directScream 7, and the screenplay has been written by Guy Busick, who co-wroteScream (2022)andScream 6, and fans are keen to see what the creative team have cooked up for Gale in the upcoming sequel.
What led to Gale’s writer’s block in Scream 4?
At the end ofScream 3,Dewey Rileyproposed to Gale Weathers and she said yes. Fast-forward 11 years, andScream 4saw the married couple living in the sleepy town of Woodsboro, California. Dewey was now the Sheriff and Gale was not doing much of anything.Gale was trying to write,but was lacking the inspiration that had her fired up during the Ghostface murders in Scream 1-3.
Gale Weathers' problemat the beginning ofScream 4, saw her staring blankly at her computer screen, as she struggled to get started on a writing project. It appears that Gale has sacrificed her exciting career in journalism to be Dewey Riley’s wife, and that isn’t enough for the Pulitzer Prize wannabe. As soon as the murders start up again, she is back on the case and determined to solve it. Gale wants to save lives, but she also wants inspiration for her next book.
How could Scream 7 revisit and expand on Gale’s writing struggles?
Scream 7is rumored to have a time jumpof five years, separating it from the events ofScream 6, and allowing Sidney and Mark’s kids to age significantly in order to place a central role in the narrative.Gale was criticized by Sam and Tara inScream 6for writing a book about the Woodsboro Murders in 2022,which saw Richie Kirsch and Amber Freeman donning the Ghostface masks, as Gale said she wouldn’t be writing a book about it.
Chances are, Gale would’ve written a book about the New York City attacks in between the events ofScream 6andScream 7as well, as this is what she does best. However, this book might have a different tone to previous ones she wrote, asit could focus on the brutal attack Gale suffered that nearly killed her inScream 6. Just like Sidney Prescott did with her book,Out of Darkness, Gale could lean on her experiences of survival and overcoming psychological obstacles, rather than the tabloid vibe of her previous works.
If five years have passed whenScream 7takes place, there have likely been no Ghostface attacks since the New York spree inScream 6, andthis could mean Gale’s writer’s block has returned with a vengeance.It is something that could be explored in more depth than her struggles to write inScream 4, with Gale’s psyche possibly coming into full focus inScream 7. She is a fascinating three-dimensional character who has suffered immeasurable trauma over the years.The reason for Gale’s writer’s block inScream 7could be linked to a lack of Ghostface activity, but it could also run much deeper than that.
Gale has had some close calls when it comes toGhostface killers. She was run off the road and left for dead inScream, followed by a gunshot wound inScream 2, though the bullet luckily just grazed her ribs. She was left relatively unscathed inScream 3, but inScream 4, she suffered a brutal stab in the shoulder, and after 11 years of suffering no violence, she was shot in the stomach by Amber inScream (2022). Butthe attack she suffered inScream 6was worse than any of those previous attempts on her life, and it likely affected her the most: mentally and physically.Coupled with the death of her one true love, Dewey Riley, things have really taken their toll on Gale in the lead up toScream 7.
It might be less of a case of writer’s block for Gale inScream 7, and more that Gale has retired from writing.Like Sidney, maybe Gale has retreated into an unspecified location, and finally wants to move on from Ghostface. However, this is Gale Weathers, and that curiosity she has for a story is something that can never leave her. So just when she thought she was out,Scream 7’s Ghostface killer(s) may pull her back in for one last scare.
