The Scream 7 cast continues to grow. After dancing around contract discussions for months now, Variety has confirmed that Courteney Cox will return as Gale Weathers, one of several primary characters in the Scream franchise. She and Neve Campbell will be back to reprise their roles as Gale and Sidney Prescott.
Cox has never said she wasn't going to be in Scream 7, but she did previously note that she hadn't officially signed on to the project yet as she was waiting for the script to be finalized. Now Variety says its sources are sure Cox is coming back.
Part of the allure is likely Kevin Williamson taking over as director. Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day) was previously attached to direct but exited the project not long after former star Melissa Barrera, who played Sam Carpenter in the last two movies, was fired by production company Spyglass Media Group.
Williamson has worked on all of the Scream movies in some capacity, most notably writing the Scream, Scream 2, and Scream 4 scripts. Scream 7 will mark his first time directing one of the meta-slasher movies.
The last time that Cox spoke with Variety about her potential return to the Scream franchise, she mentioned how much she would like to see David Arquette return as Dewey who was sadly murdered by Ghostface in the fifth Scream.
Cox said, "They have to figure it out," regarding bringing his character back in some capacity. Could her return mean Dewey will be back, too? Probably not, but maybe Arquette can have a cameo of some kind in dream or flashback form.
Cox's return comes amid several new and returning cast announcements for the slasher set to release in February 2026. Most recently, Anna Camp (Hysteria!) was announced to star in the film, and we also know that Mason Gooding will return as Chad Meeks-Martin. It's unknown if Jasmin Savoy Brown will reprise her role as his twin sister Mindy (an online rumor said that Brown had said she would not return during a recent fan convention, but that is unconfirmed).
In addition to Gooding and Camp, other newcomers for Scream 7 include 1883 actress Isabel May, who will play Sidney's daughter. Mckenna Grace, Asa Germann, and Sam Rechner have been cast in unknown roles. Barrera will not return, and neither will Tara Carpenter actress Jenna Ortega.
Scream 7 will be released theatrically on February 27, 2026.