Summary

Kevin Williamson chose to direct Scream 7 to focus on Sidney Prescott's story & explore her life today.
Fans eager for a grown-up Sidney Prescott appearance and curious about how she'll handle Ghostface.
Concerns arise on balancing nostalgia, new storylines, dead characters, & multiple character arcs.

Ever since I first saw Ghostface quiz Drew Barrymore's iconic teen character Casey Becker about her horror movie knowledge, I've been a huge fan of the Scream franchise. With Scream 7's February 2026 release date less than a year away, I'm eager to see a trailer or teaser. In the meantime, I'm excited to hear any updates that come out, including a recent interview with director Kevin Williamson where he explained why he wanted to get behind the camera for the next battle between Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and Ghostface.

The filmmaker and TV showrunner wrote Scream, Scream 2, and Scream 4, and was an executive producer on the fifth and sixth movies. With Williamson is back for the seventh installment, I'm looking forward to seeing him put his stamp on the franchise once again. However, I have some thoughts.

If Scream 7 Made This Bold Choice, This Is What I Want To See In A Potential Scream 8

Scream 7 will have familiar elements like Ghostface, Sidney Prescott, and other legacy characters, but could it feature a big twist?

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By Aya Tsintziras

Kevin Williamson Said Yes To Directing Scream 7 Because Of Sidney Prescott, But I Have A Few Questions

Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) in Scream (2022)

According to Variety, at the ATX TV Festival on Friday, May 30th, 2025, Kevin Williamson explained that he said yes to directing Scream 7 because he wanted to tell a story about Sidney Prescott. He said:

“The company pitched it to me because they said, ‘This is going to be about Sidney Prescott. It needs to be about Sidney.’ That’s why I would want to do it."

Williamson continued:

"I do think there’s a world we haven’t tapped into — we’ve never gone home with her, who she is today, and we don’t know what her life is about. I want to know those things.”

Williamson explained that while Neve Campbell said no to Scream 6 because of a pay dispute, Campbell also wanted Sidney to have a real and engaging story in a Scream movie. While Sidney is my favorite slasher final girl and I can't wait to see Scream 7, I have to wonder how the movie will strike the right balance between nostalgia, telling a new story about Sidney, and juggling so many legacy and fresh characters.

Even without an official teaser or trailer, it's clear that Scream 7 is going to be a jam-packed movie. The story has to follow Sidney as an adult and address any questions fans have about where she has been and what she's been doing. That includes catching audiences up on her marriage to Joel McHale's new character, showing her daughters, and also creating proper character arcs for the new high school-aged characters, some of whom are likely her kids' classmates and friends.

But then there's also the question of how dead characters like Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard), Dewey Riley (David Arquette), and Roman Bridger (Scott Foley) will be included in the narrative. After giving this a lot of thought, I think this will only work if the movie dives into Sidney's memories and flashbacks of these characters. Otherwise, there are too many questions and loose ends.

I'm nervous because Scream (2022) and Scream 6 went in a new direction that either barely included Sidney or omitted her entirely. It's easy to forget that Sidney even appeared in the fifth movie because, after Dewey calls Sidney about Ghostface's new reign of terror at the beginning, she barely gets any screentime. But these two movies focus on The Core Four of Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega), Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown), and Chad Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding). I'm thrilled Mindy and Chad are coming back since they're smart and interesting characters. But unless Scream 7 has a really long two-hour plus runtime, which seems unlikely, how is the movie going to focus on Sidney while diving into everyone's storyline properly?

Fans Look Forward To Seeing A Grown-Up Sidney Prescott In Scream 7

Sidney standing outside in Woodsboro in Scream 4

From wondering if Sidney Prescott's husband will die first or if Sidney will have a good friend, fans have a lot of questions about the final girl's Scream 7 storyline. A few discussed Neve Campbell's character on Reddit and agreed that they're intrigued by the upcoming sequel's spotlight on Sidney. One Redditor made a good point: Sidney will be more afraid of Ghostface this time around since she has a family.

Redditor @AliAwesome81 wonders how Sidney is doing after years of being chased by Ghostface. The fan wrote:

"Im curious what direction they will go with her. Will She be wildly hypervigilant. Will she have her house set up with traps all over, or will she be trying to give her children as close to normal life as possible?"

Redditor @justafanboy1010 agreed:

"I’m definitely excited for Parent Sidney. I hope they deliver on it."

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