SCREAM 7 Writer Shares Why Sidney Prescott Is Back in and What It Means for the Core Four
After stepping away from Scream VI, Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott is making her return to the franchise and according to Scream 7 writer Guy Busick, the upcoming installment was designed from scratch to center Sidney, marking a shift in direction after the original sequel was scrapped due to behind-the-scenes shakeups involving franchise leads Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega.
In an interview with ComicBook, Busick explained:
“The original Scream 7 with Barrera and Ortega was a completely different thing… [We] just had to start from scratch, which was a bummer.”
Fans were hoping for one last ride with the “Core Four,” made up of Sam and Tara Carpenter, and the Meeks-Martin twins, Chad and Mindy.
“We were excited about what we had for that movie. We wanted to do one more ‘Core Four’ movie. We know the fans love those characters. We love those characters. We created those characters.”
But, with Barrera fired and Ortega bowing out, the creative team pivoted and found a way to finally tell the Sidney story they’d been sitting on. Busick teased:
“We always wanted to do a Sidney movie and so it was like, ‘All right, let’s get into it and why now and why this one?’I don’t want to give anything away about the reason [Scream 7] had to be a Sidney movie because there’s a really cool reason…
“Scream is always in a conversation with the audience about the state of movies, the state of horror movies and in particular, franchises.”
Busick is pointing at legacy sequels like Halloween (2018), Texas Chainsaw Massacre (2022), and The Exorcist: Believer (2023) as part of the conversation. He goes on to say:
“There is a really specific reason why Sidney is in this movie. I will say there is a reason and we were happy with it when we cracked it.
“We went to Neve Campbell and said, ‘This is why. This is why Sidney now.’ Neve was like, ‘Oh, I get that.’ I pitched Kevin [Williamson] this first, too. He got it and then I pitched the studio.”
The film also finds a way to bring back the Meeks-Martin twins—Mindy and Chad—despite the loss of the other half of their group. In regard to that Busick said:
“I believe it was James [Vanderbilt] that came up with it… but it was an organic way why they would be in this movie. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say it’s through Gale. She’s the connective tissue in 5 and 6 and she’s in this.”
He added that the new location “is not New York,” and suggested it’s been “more than two years” since the events of Scream VI.
Then, of course, somehow Dewey (David Arquette) is returning, despite being stabbed to death in Scream 5. Add to that the return of other previously dead Ghostfaces with Matthew Lillard’s Stu and Scott Foley’s Roman, and the mystery is clearly part of the plan.
Joel McHale joins the cast as Sidney’s husband Mark, while Isabel May plays their daughter. The rest of the cast includes some names like Mckenna Grace, Anna Camp, and Jimmy Tatro.
There’s a lot packed into this seventh film and it sounds like it’s going to take some big swings. I’m excited to see what the story will be when the film is released on February 27, 2026.