Courtney Cox is the only actress who has been in every Scream movie since 1996. But despite reports that Cox had signed on to Scream 7 back in March, she’s not actually locked down to reprise her role as Gale Weathers for the next sequel. And she doesn’t seem to be in a hurry about it.
“I’m not officially signed on,” Cox told Variety. “I’m not, but there will be a Scream 7.” Cox also mentioned that she doesn’t have a timeframe to make her decision, but she is being kept in the loop about the script. “They’re rewriting all the time,” said Cox. “It’s not like I don’t know what’s going on.”
Cox also expressed her enthusiasm for director Kevin Williamson–the original screenwriter of the franchise–who has been signed to bring Scream 7 to the big screen. “You can’t get better than that choice,” noted Cox. “It’s going to be fun.”
So far, the only performer who has agreed to return for Scream 7 is Neve Campbell, the actress who declined to appear as Sydney Prescott for Scream 6 over a salary dispute. But if Cox has her way, she’d love to see her ex-husband, David Arquette, reprise his role as Dewey Riley despite his on-screen death in the fifth film.
“I understand the reasons they [killed off Dewey], but whoa! Talk about a missed character,” said Cox. “Dewey is so loved by Scream fans. They have to figure it out.”
The original version of Scream 7 was meant to focus on Melissa Barerra and Jenna Ortega as the Carpenter sisters, Sam and Tara. However, Barerra was fired from the film over her remarks on social media about the war in Gaza while Ortega withdrew from the sequel citing her Wednesday Season 2 schedule. Following those departures, Campbell and Williamson were approached about returning for the next film.
Scream 7 doesn’t currently have a release date.