Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is back front and center in Scream 7, but the sequel is missing a major part of the franchise, and horror fans are split on the decision.
2026 marks the 30th anniversary of the Scream franchise, and Ghostface is taking aim at the woman at the heart of it all to mark the occasion, and the first trailer confirmed that the killer has also set his sights on her daughter, Tatum (Isabel May).
It’s not been an easy road for the sequel, as Campbell declined to return in Scream 6 over a pay dispute. However, she was brought back after Melissa Barrera was fired from Scream 7 by the studio for social media posts regarding the Gaza conflict.
Now, director and writer Kevin Williamson has revealed that a major element from the franchise is missing in Scream 7, and fans are divided about what this means for the sequel’s success.
When speaking to Empire, Williamson said that Scream 7 will skip the franchise’s meta-commentary about horror, Hollywood, and pop culture. It’s a huge shift given the original movie started as a violent satire about slasher movies.
He explained: “This movie doesn’t really have that meta goal. It’s continuing the legacy of Sidney Prescott. It’s about her daughter. It’s about family.”
The director continued saying that the film was also originally less gory, but they quickly ditched that plan. “We said, ‘We’re gonna be less bloody.’ We kind of screwed up with that. I said, ‘I think we need more blood.’ And Neve was like, ‘I think you’re right.’”
It appears Scream 7 is moving away from its roots of riffing on the genre, to just embracing it completely. However, Williamson’s comments have divided fans about whether the sequel will deliver the goods or not.
Some Scream fans say there is “no new ground to tread”
Like Ghostface’s knife into an unsuspecting victim, Williamson’s comments have carved a divide in Scream fans who debated what this means for the seventh movie in the franchise. Bloody Disgusting’s John Squires pointed out on X that the franchise “Scream IS ‘that meta goal.’ Otherwise it’s just another slasher series.”
This caused plenty of debate in the replies, with one person writing: “The meta stuff IS Scream. Craven was genius at making horror reflect the culture we were living in, and that’s what made it timeless.” Another chimed in to say that Ghostface has run out of road. “It’s the 7th movie. There is literally no new ground to tread. It’s either this, no movie at all, or send Ghostface to space,” they added.
Meanwhile, others pointed out that Scream 7 looks to be more self-referential than commenting on the horror genre. They explained, “What we’ve seen of the opening I would say looks meta, visiting THE house that’s seen 2 x sets of murders.”
Someone else suggested that it might just be toned down, saying: “I genuinely think he means it won’t be so ‘on the nose’ as 5 and 6 were.”
While another fan added: “I think we need a break from meta stuff. People are longing for an escape at the theatre.”
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