Neve Campbell will bring Sidney Prescott back to movie theaters inScream.The sequel looks set to have a time jump of approximately five years, with Ghostface targeting Sidney and her family. Kevin Williamson will finally get his chance to direct, after creating the horror franchise back in the 90s. With the film coming soon, fans are speculating about what Sidney’s story will be this time around.There’s a particular plot point fromScream 3that could be revived inScream 7, which involved Sidney changing her name and going into hiding.
Scream 7is set to begin filming sometime this year, with rumors suggesting that Courteney Cox andPatrick Dempseyare set to return to the franchise alongside Campbell. No official casting announcements have been made, but Roger L. Jackson did appear to confirm he would be returning as the voice of Ghostface at a recent fan convention. Spyglass Media has remained rather quiet in the lead up to production beginning onScream 7, in the midst of the backlash overMelissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega’s exitsfrom the project.
Directed By
Wes Craven
Sidney Prescott had survived two attempts on her life before the events ofScream 3began. Sidney’s boyfriend, Billy Loomis, and his deranged lapdog,Stu Macherdonned the now famous Ghostface masks and tried to kill her in Woodsboro, California in the original movie. This was followed by another attempt on Sidney’s life during the events ofScream 2, when two more Ghostface killers tracked her down while she was attending Windsor College in Ohio.
These two traumatic events led to Sidney Prescott going into hiding in an unspecified location in the middle of nowhere, and she also changed her name to Laura. She worked remotely as a crisis counselor, taking calls from desperate people seeking guidance in their lives. Sidney’s home was a log cabin with a lot of security measures surrounding it, designed to keep her safe from any future psycho-killers who might want to target her.
Sidney was very much cut off from the world, but remained in contact with the two men in her life that she trusted:Dewey Rileyand her father, Neil Prescott. The latter came to visit her at her cabin duringScream 3, and tried to persuade her to come out of hiding.
Maybe it’s time you came home. I’m worried about you kid, out here by yourself. You never see anyone. The only people you talk to don’t even know your real name. It’s as if you don’t exist.
Kevin Williamson
There is one thing that is certain:Sidney Prescott’s return to Woodsborowould never happen now. She would only do such a thing if it was absolutely necessary, like it was inScream (2022), when she came back to her hometown to avenge Dewey’s death.Scream 7could possibly see Sidney return to the mindset that she had inScream 3, where she changed her name and went into hiding.InScream 3, Sidney was a single person with no family to protect, but still made the decision to conceal her true identity. InScream 7, the iconic final girl now has a family to look out for, making it even likelier that thisSidney plot pointfromScream 3will be expanded upon.
Sidney Prescott was somewhat sidelined inScream 3, due to Neve Campbell’s busy schedule at the time of filming. This meant that Sidney’s storyline involving her name change wasn’t fleshed out as much as it could’ve been.Scream 7has the opportunity to explore this plot point in greater detail, as the focus shifts back onto Sidney.
Since the Ghostface attacks inScream 3, Sidney has been embroiled in two more murder sprees inScream 4andScream (2022).It was confirmed byGale Weathersthat Sidney had effectively gone into hiding with Mark and the kids during the attacks in New York City inScream 6. This makes it quite plausible that Sidney might revert to herScream 3mindset during the events ofScream 7.After all:
Psychos can’t kill what they can’t find.
It could be that Sidney has already changed her name at the start ofScream 7, a la Laurie Strode/Keri Tate inHalloween H20.However, it might not necessarily mean she would be in hiding at this point, like she was inScream 3,as this could negatively affect the lives of her children. But when the murders inevitably start up again inScream 7, this could prompt her to go into hiding. It would appear Ghostface has discovered her true identity, making the name change seem rather pointless.
Scream 3hinted at Sidney Prescott experiencing PTSD due to her mother,Maureen Prescott’s murder, along with the effects of the Ghostface attacks on her inScreamandScream 2, butScream 7now has the opportunity to revisit this plot point in more depth.
