Scream 7 arrives in theaters on February 27, 2026, bringing Sidney Prescott back to the center of the franchise for the first time in over a decade. The latest installment sees Sidney once again targeted by a new Ghostface killer, continuing a legacy of masked murders that has defined the series for nearly 30 years. With Scream 7 heavily connected to earlier films, here’s everything you need to know — from past Ghostface killers to returning cast members — before heading to theaters.

Scream 7 - cast, creators, runtime and release date

• Written by: Kevin Williamson and Guy Busick, from a story by Busick and James Vanderbilt
• Directed by: Kevin Williamson
• Starring: Neve Campbell, Isabel May, Courtney Cox, Jasmin Savoy-Brown, Mason Gooding, Anna Camp
• Runtime: 114 minutes
• Release date: February 27, 2026

How does Scream 7 connect to earlier Scream movies?

 

Scream 7 is not only a sequel to the previous six Scream movies, it’s also a return to centering the story around Sidney Prescott, the lead character of the first four movies in the franchise. Sidney did appear in 2022’s Scream, but as a side character as the franchise soft-rebooted around Sam and Tara Carpenter, two siblings in Woodsboro, the town where the first Scream movie took place; she was absent from 2023’s Scream VI. With Scream 7, not only is franchise co-creator Kevin Williamson back to write and direct, but the emphasis is being placed firmly back on Sidney and her family.

We also know that a number of dead characters are set to make their return in the movie somehow, with Scott Foley’s Roman Bridger, Matthew Lillard’s Stu Macher, and David Arquette’s Dewey Riley all making a reappearance through means that remain mysterious; despite this, Williamson has said that the movie is lacking the meta twist of the earlier movies. So… it’s very much a sequel to the earlier movies, but we don’t know how much, just yet.

Want to know more about the earlier Scream movies? We have a watch order for them right here. 

Who was the main Ghostface in Scream?

 

Unlike more traditional slasher movies, there is no singular Ghostface that reappears throughout the series; instead, different characters take on the disguise in each installment. To date, here are the Ghostfaces we’ve seen:

• Billy Loomis (Scream)
• Stu Macher (Scream)
• Mickey Altieri (Scream 2)
• Debbie Salt (Scream 2)
• Roman Bridger (Scream 3)
• Charlie Walker (Scream 4)
• Jill Roberts (Scream 4)
• Richie Kirsch (Scream 2022)
• Amber Freeman (Scream 2022)
• Ethan Landry (Scream VI)
• Quinn Bailey (Scream VI)
• Wayne Bailey (Scream VI)

There is one actor who’s been attached to Ghostface in every single movie, however: Roger L. Jackson, who’s played the altered voice of Ghostface, no matter who’s been behind the mask.

Who is playing Sidney Prescott’s daughter in Scream 7?

Isabel May plays Tatum Evans, Sidney's daughter (and new Ghostface target) in Scream 7. You’ve previously seen her in Paramount+’s 1883 and CBS’s Young Sheldon.

For Scream continuity nerds, Tatum is not one of Sidney's daughters previously seen or mentioned in 2022’s Scream; Sidney has three daughters, with Mia and Charlotte being the other two. They will cameo in Scream 7, according to reports, played by Maggie and Annabelle Toomey.

Why was Dewey killed off in Scream (2022)? 

After surviving four earlier Scream movies, Dewey Riley dies in Scream (2022), leaving Sidney Prescott and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) as the only two characters to have appeared in every movie in the series to that point and survived. Cox was against Dewey’s death, saying that she thought it was a “downer.” Tyler Gillett, who co-directed the movie with Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, said that the death was “essential” because “the only possible thing that could get Sid back to Woodsboro is the loss of a dear friend and a real connection to her roots.” He also called the death “fucking gut-wrenching.”

Why is Jenna Ortega not in Scream 7?

In 2025, Jenna Ortega gave an interview in which she admitted that she’d departed the seventh Scream movie not, as was initially announced, because of scheduling conflicts but because both the directing team of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett were not involved, and because lead actor Melissa Barrera had been fired from the production over social media comments about the Israel/Hamas conflict. “If Scream 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,” she said.

Before the movie was retooled, the original plan for Scream 7 was to have Barrera’s character, Sam Carpenter, become Ghostface herself — at least, according to franchise star Skeet Ulrich.

Does Scream 7 have a trailer?

Yes, Scream 7 has multiple trailers. The first full trailer saw the new Ghostface threaten to “burn it all down” in their quest to hunt Sidney Prescott and her family — and you can see it here:

The Super Bowl spot confirms that Tatum is the same age Sidney was in the original movie, suggesting a legacy element to whatever is about to happen.

And the final trailer doubled down on the threat of the Super Bowl spot with the addition of swearing and the tagline, “Everything had led to this.”

When is Scream 7 released in theaters?

Sidney Prescott will have one more fight for her survival when Scream 7 is in theaters February 27, 2026. 

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