Summary
2026 marks a major milestone for theScreamfranchise, withScream 7debuting 30 years after Wes Craven’s original. Kevin Williamson has been with the series from the start, and after serving as a writer or producer on all previous entries, he’s finally being promoted to director this time around. It’s fair to say thatScream 7has faced a few bumps in the road, but as things finally get underway, a bumper cast of new and familiar faces are ready to take on another Ghostface(s).
While former leading ladyNeve Campbell had a public fallout with Paramountover her pay packet and ended up sitting out 2023’sScream 6, she’s back in action as Sidney Prescott and is set to bring the franchise back to its roots. Courteney Cox is also confirmed to reprise her role as the iconic Gale Weathers, while formerScreamalumni including Mason Gooding, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and (of course) Roger L. Jackson are back. While Sidney is destined to be haunted by the ghosts of her past, one major casting harks back to the most controversialScreammovie ever made.
Scream 7 Brings Back Scream 3’s Ghostface
The castings don’t stop coming, and just hours beforeScreamlegend Matthew Lillard was confirmed to reprise his role as OG Ghostface Stu Macher,Scream 3’s Scott Foleywas also added toScream 7’s cast list. Due to the popularity of Lillard and various theories that Macher is somehow still alive, his casting largely overshadowed Foley’s return as Roman Bridger. Craven divisively left Woodsboro and took the story to Hollywood for 2000’sScream 3, but that wasn’t the only controversy the movie faced.
Whereas all the movies before and since have included multiple Ghostfaces,Scream 3included the singular twist whereRoman was the only killer. The big reveal explained how Roman was Sidney’s illegitimate half-brother who’d been driven mad when he found out his mother had a happy life in Woodsboro. Although Roman had carved himself a semi-successful career as a director in Hollywood, his production ofStab 3: Return To Woodsborowas all a ruse to take out his hatred on Sidney. The convoluted plot involved Sidney’s mother being raped by John Milton (Lance Henriksen) and awkwardly shoehorned Roman into 1996’sScreamby making him the architect of Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and Stu’s scheming.
The addition of Lillard suggests that Foley will appear in a flashback – presumably featuring Roman meeting with Billy and Stu to kickstart the original killings. Another option is sure to be even more controversial and could see Sidneyliterallybeing haunted by ghosts.Scream 3took some flak as it veered into the supernatural and Sidney saw the ghostly visage of her dead mother. This became even more hated when Sam (Melissa Barrera) was haunted by her father, Billy Loomis, with bothScream(2022) andScream 6using somedoggy CGI on a de-aged Skeet Ulrich. Many had assumed that with Barrera having leftScream 7, poor de-aging to bring back ghosts would’ve been a thing of the past.
As forwhoScream 7’s Ghostface is,Scream 3could be worth a rewatch. Like Richie (Jack Quaid) echoing Billy’s Ghostface as the MVP’s boyfriend,Scream 6then had a vengeful parent (Dermot Mulroney’s Wayne Bailey) out for blood like Debbie Loomis (Laurie Metcalf) inScream 2. Despite not getting to know much about Roman, it seems unlikely thatScream 7has another secret sibling out there for Sidney. Roman suggested he and Sid are Maureen Prescott’s only kids when he told the franchise hero:
”She had a new life and a new name! Maureen Prescott! You were the only child she claimed Sidney! She shut me out in the cold forever! Her own son… Roman Bridger, director. And brother.”
The most popular theory at the moment is that Joel McHale’s Mark Evans could be an obvious Ghostface. Either that, orMark could be a grisly opening killthat lures Sidney back from her happy ending and into the latest copycat killing spree. Still, none of this really explains what Foley is doing here.
What Went Wrong With Scream 3?
While there are plenty ofScream 4haters out there, there’s a reason thatScream 3is the lowest-rated entry and is the only ‘rotten’ outing on Rotten Tomatoes. There’s a general consensus thatRoman is the weakest Ghostface killer, with the general plot ofScream 3being seen as a letdown.Scream 3was the first not to feature Williamson as a writer, and although he served as a producer, harking back to the maligned threequel inScream 7could be his way of trying to redeem it.
Of course, a lot ofScream 3’s issues were out of Craven’s hands. The Columbine High School massacre led to hysteria in the Hollywood and meant thatScream 3had to massively cut back on its violence. More than this, it nixed the original plan to bring Lillard back as Stu. Speaking in 2009, Lillard confirmed he was supposed toreprise his role as Stu Macher, and having survived having a TV dropped on his head inScream, he’d be puppeteering a cult of young Ghostfaces from behind bars. Even when writer Ehren Kruger settled on the Roman idea, there was nearly another reveal that Angelina Tyler (Emily Mortimer) was going to be a second Ghostface. This would’ve made sense, making ‘Angie’ a former classmate of Sidney who idolized her and went on to star as her in the newStab.
The Roman reveal is especially panned because the character barely had any screen time before he was exposed as a cliché Ghostface in the final act. Following standout performances from Lillard and Ulrich in the originalScream(especially Lillard),Scream 3wasn’t the trilogy-topping blockbuster it could’ve been. It’s easy to argue that Metcalf’s Debbie Loomis had even less screen time, but with the actor nailing what little action she had, ANDScream 2putting its own spin onFriday the 13th’s big Pamela Voorhees reveal, it somehow cemented her as one of the best Ghostfaces.
That isn’t to say that the newer movies are trying to eraseScream 3, as there have been several nods to Roman since.Scream 4’s cinema club includedStab 3: Hollywood Horrorwhich immortalized the events ofScream 3, while Roman’s mask and voice changer appeared inScream VI. Williamson can take Foley’s return in several ways, and if he’s smart, he can lean into the fan theories. Following1996’sScream, there was a theory that the Ghostface stalking Sidney outside her home was secretly Roman. An alternate ending ofScream 2also featured a third killer watching Sidney from the Windsor College rooftop, with fans theorizing it could’ve been Roman. Then again, it’s not considered canon. Whatever Williamson has planned forScream 7, Foley’s part is hopefully something a little more substantial than a de-aged Roman telling Billy and Stu to slice and dice Sidney.
