Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett resurrected the Scream franchise with two very successful installments, but it seems that they won’t be back for Ghostface’s next massacre. It was confirmed yesterday that Christopher Landon, best known for Happy Death Day, Freaky, and We Have a Ghost, had signed on to direct Scream 7.
The news that Christopher Landon would be directing Scream 7 was certainly exciting for many horror fans and the director took to Twitter (or X rather) to give his two-cents. “Just a big, heart-felt thanks to all the #scream fans for welcoming me into the fold,” Landon wrote. “Horror has been my passion all my life. I promise to do Wes,Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin proud. And of course, a massive shout out to my friend and hero Kevin Williamson. Let’s go!!!!“
As for why Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett elected not to return, it’s said to be, at least in part, because they’re focusing on their original horror movie for Universal. However, they will still remain involved in Scream 7 as executive producers alongside Chad Villella.
James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick wrote the last two movies but it’s unclear if they will be returning for the next. Christopher Landon has typically written or co-written each of his movies, so it’s possible he could have a hand in Scream 7 as well. Of course, nothing will happen on the script front until the writers strike comes to an end.
Melissa Barrera, who has starred in the last two movies as Sam Carpenter, has previously said that she would like to further explore her character’s mental health in a sequel. “There are so many places that [Sam] could go,” Barrera said. “That’s one of the reasons that, when I read the script for Scream 5, I was so interested in the character. There’s so much potential here of where she could go with her mental health – she’s just unpredictable. I find that that darkness in her makes her that much more interesting to play and to watch. She’s the hero but she’s also kind of the villain. It’s this contradiction in her that I find fascinating and, if we get to do another one, I would love to see. The writers have done a really good job with her up until this point, so I trust them just to know where to take her [in a way] that will be unexpected and cool for the fans.“
What are your hopes for Scream 7?