Following the exit ofScream (2022) andScream VI directorsMatt Bettinelli-Olpin andTyler Gillett in August 2023,Christopher Landon was hired to direct the seventhScream film. However, the film went through a creative retooling after the departure of starsMelissa Barrera andJenna Ortega in late 2023, with Landon also leaving the project. In March 2024, Campbell confirmed her return to the franchise after being absent fromScream VI, with Williamson hired to directScream 7 after serving as writer and producer of the early films in the series. Filming began in January 2025 and concluded that March.
Scream 7 is scheduled to be released in the United States on February 27, 2026, byParamount Pictures.
Premise
Sidney Prescott has built a new life for herself in the quiet town of Pine Grove, Indiana, until a newGhostface killer begins to target her daughter Tatum, forcing her to face her past to end the killings once and for all.
During the premiere ofScream VI (2023), co-directorMatt Bettinelli-Olpin said: "We want to be watchingScream movies whether we're involved or not for the rest of our lives".[20] Both Bettinelli-Olpin and co-directorTyler Gillett previously expressed interest in December 2022 in bringingNeve Campbell's characterSidney Prescott back in future sequels, after Campbell declined to return inScream VI due to a pay dispute with the film's producers.[21]
In August 2023, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett exited the project due to scheduling conflicts with their filmAbigail (2024).Christopher Landon was hired in their place.[22] That same month,pre-production was suspended due to the2023 SAG-AFTRA strike.[23] On November 21, 2023, it was reported thatMelissa Barrera, who starred asSam Carpenter inScream (2022) andScream VI, had been fired from the seventh film due to her comments about theGaza war.[24][25] The following day,Deadline Hollywood reported thatJenna Ortega would not reprise the role ofTara Carpenter due to scheduling conflicts with her starring role asWednesday Addams in the second season of theNetflix television seriesWednesday (2025).[26] Ortega later refuted this, stating in an April 2025 interview that she left due to the changes in the creative team and cast, stating, "The Melissa stuff was happening, and it was all kind of falling apart. IfScream VII wasn't going to be with that team of directors and those people I fell in love with, then it didn't seem like the right move for me in my career at the time".[27][28] It was then reported that the film would go through a creative retooling, with the intention of bringing back other actors from the franchise, like Campbell, along withPatrick Dempsey, who portrayedMark Kincaid inScream 3 (2000).[29] In December 2023, Landon announced that he had officially exited the film weeks prior.[30] He later explained he felt without Barrera the film he had signed on to direct no longer existed, and therefore there was no reason for him to continue.[31] Despite the fact that Landon was not involved in the studio's actions, he faced backlash and harassment from some Barrera fansonline, to the point of having threats leveled against him and his family: "People were threatening to kill me and my family, to the point where theFBI was getting involved. I got messages saying, 'I'm going to find your kids, and I'm going to kill them because you support child murder.' The head of security at various studios and the FBI had to examine the threats."[32]
Casting
Neve Campbell reprises her role as Sidney Prescott whileMatthew Lillard, who previously played Stu Macher, joined the cast again.[33]
Principal photography began under the working titleScar Tissue inAtlanta, Georgia, on January 7, 2025,[44] and concluded on March 12.[45] According to Campbell, filming was scheduled to begin in September 2024 and was then delayed until December 2024 due to scheduling issues.[46]
Music
The film will be scored byMarco Beltrami, returning from the first four installments.[47] In late August 2025, Beltrami divulged on his Instagram account that he, alongside an orchestra, had completed work on the score inBudapest. He additionally released snippets, which included new compositions titled "What's in a Name" and "School Drama". Other excerpts featured the franchise's classic piece "Sidney's Lament", as well as an orchestral reinvention of the theme called "Mrs. Evans Lament".[48] The film also features four original songs, including "Twisting the Knife" byIce Nine Kills (ft. Mckenna Grace), "Rearranging Scars" bySueco, "Criminal" byJessie Murph, and "The Kill" by Stella Lefty.[49]
Release
Scream 7 is scheduled to be released in the United States on February 27, 2026, including inIMAX, a first for the series.[50][51]
Box office projections
On February 5, 2026,Deadline Hollywood reported that the film was on track for a mid-$30 million domestic opening weekend, which would place it second behindScream VI's $44.4 million domestic opening weekend.[52]
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