Scream 7: Courteney Cox finally confirmed to return as Gale Weathers

It’s finally official: Variety reports that Courteney Cox will return as Gale Weathers for Scream 7. This will make her the only actor (with the exception of Ghostface voice artist Roger L. Jackson) to appear in every Scream movie.

Cox was always down to return; she was just waiting on a final script. She also said she was “excited” that Kevin Williamson, screenwriter of the original Scream movie, would be directing. “You can’t get better than that choice,” Cox said. “It’s going to be fun.“

The upcoming sequel will see the return of Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott. After playing the role in the first five Scream movies, she was expected to return for the sixth until the studio low-balled her. “As a woman, I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Scream,” Campbell said. “I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise. It’s been a very difficult decision to move on.” It’s also possible that Patrick Dempsey might be returning as Mark Kincaid (now married to Sidney) from Scream 3. It was announced that Isabel May (Yellowstone: 1883) had joined the cast as Sidney’s teenage daughter. Celeste O’Connor (Madame Web), Mckenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire), Sam Rechner (The Fabelmans), Asa Germaan (Gen V), and Anna Camp (True Blood) have also signed on.

Mason Gooding will also be returning as Chad Meeks-Martin. As for Jasmin Savoy Brown, who plays Chad’s sister Mindy, she hasn’t officially signed on yet.

The original plan for Scream 7 would have seen Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega returning as Sam and Tara Carpenter, but Spyglass Media fired Barrera after a few pro-Palestinian social media posts that they deemed anti-Semitic. The very next day, it was revealed that Ortega had exited the project as well. It was initially reported that this was due to scheduling conflicts with the second season of Wednesday, but it later emerged that she had wanted a substantial salary increase, which Spyglass refused, so she walked.

That wasn’t the end of the drama either. Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day) was set to direct the movie, but he also departed, calling it a “dream job that turned into a nightmare.” Scream 7 is slated for a February 27, 2026 release.