Scream 7 has crushed all hopes and dreams for a Mark Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey) return by casting Joel McHale as Sidney Prescott’s (Neve Campbell) husband, giving the movie an even bigger challenge to overcome. After supposedly ending with Scream 4 in 2011, the Scream saga returned with a reboot trilogy. Starting with Scream in 2022, the reboot timeline brought back the survivors of the original movies – Sidney, Gale (Courteney Cox), and Dewey (David Arquette) – and introduced a new generation of characters, led by sisters Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara (Jenna Ortega).
Scream 6 became the first movie in the saga to not have Sidney in any capacity, with Gale mentioning she, her husband Mark, and their kids had moved to a safe place. It was understood that Sidney’s husband was Scream 3’s Mark Kincaid, with whom she got together at the end of the movie, though he wasn’t mentioned in Scream 4. Mark is now confirmed to not be Kincaid as Dempsey isn’t returning and, instead, Joel McHale was cast as Mark – and though this makes sense (but it’s still disappointing), it has now created a bigger challenge for Scream 7.
Scream 7’s Joel McHale Casting Has Turned Sidney’s Husband Into A Suspect
Joel McHale’s Casting Has Raised Suspicions
Despite Sidney’s husband Mark never being confirmed to be Mark Kincaid in Scream 2022 or Scream 6, it was generally ᴀssumed that it was him. Mark Kincaid was introduced in Scream 3 and he was a detective investigating the Ghostface Hollywood murders. These began with the murder of Cotton Weary (Liv Schreiber) and his girlfriend, and expanded to the set of Stab 3. His investigation led him to meet Sidney, who was initially unsure if she could trust him, thus making Mark a Ghostface suspect in the eyes of the audience.
In the third act of Scream 3, Mark arrived at John Milton’s mansion, where the final Ghostface killings took place before their idenтιтy was revealed. Mark pushed Sidney out of the way of Ghostface’s knife and was stabbed in the chest, but he survived. However, he was later attacked by the killer and left unconscious while the killer revealed themselves. Mark was last seen at the end of Scream 3, where he was at Sidney’s home preparing to watch a movie with her and the newly engaged Gale and Dewey.
McHale is no stranger to characters who are likable but secretly dark.
However, in Scream 4, Sidney mentioned she was single, and there was no mention of Mark. It was believed Sidney and Mark Kincaid could have rekindled their romance at some point between Scream 4 and Scream 2022, but now his story will be left to the audience’s interpretation. As mentioned above, Joel McHale has been cast as Sidney’s husband, Mark Evans, and has now become the main suspect in Scream 7. McHale is no stranger to characters who are likable but secretly dark, and he has the charm to deceive Sidney and the audience.
Mark Being Scream 7’s Ghostface Is The Saga’s Biggest Risk
Scream 7 Risks Ruining Everything With Mark As The Killer
The suspicions around Joel McHale’s Mark Evans in Scream 7 are reminiscent of the ones around Jack Quaid when he was cast in Scream 2022. Many online users correctly guessed Quaid’s Richie would be one of the Ghostface killers, and this is now Scream 7’s biggest risk with its non-Kincaid Mark. If Sidney’s husband was Mark Kincaid, it would have been highly unlikely that he was the new Ghostface as it’s known he was/is a detective and he already went through a Ghostface murder spree in Scream 3 – unfortunately, the same can’t be said for Mark Evans.
The problems with making Mark Evans the new Ghostface in Scream 7 are many, starting with how repeтιтive it would be. In Scream, Sidney’s boyfriend, Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), was revealed as one of two Ghostface killers, with Scream 2022 repeating this trick, as Richie was Sam’s boyfriend. Mark Evans being Ghostface would be doing this again, making Scream 7 predictable and repeтιтive. On top of that, Mark Evans being the killer would feel disrespectful to Sidney’s entire Scream history.
Making her husband the killer would be terribly unfair and tragic.
Sidney has faced a total of nine Ghostface killers, counting the ones in Scream 2022 even if they didn’t directly target her. Three of them were directly linked to her: Billy was her boyfriend, Scream 3’s Roman Bridger (Scott Foley) was revealed to be Sidney’s half-brother, and Scream 4’s Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts) was her cousin. Scream 7 is already undoing Sidney’s happy ending with Mark and their kids by bringing her back as the main character, and making her husband the killer would be terribly unfair and tragic.
Scream 7 Also Needs To Break One Reboot Tradition
Scream 7 Has To Be Original
In addition to its Ghostface and Mark challenge, Scream 7 also has to break the worst tradition of the saga’s reboot movies, which connects with the above point. Scream 2022 basically retold the first movie, with its boyfriend twist and the killers’ motivations being reminiscent of those of Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard). Unfortunately, Scream 6 did this again and retold Scream 2, with a family twist in its Ghostface reveal and Sam’s new boyfriend being used as a red herring, just like Sidney’s boyfriend Derek (Jerry O’Connell) in Scream 2.
Scream 7 needs to be original and play its cards wisely, as now its Ghostface killer could be predicted too easily.
There’s a very justifiable worry among Scream fans that Scream 7 might end up retelling Scream 3, with another big family twist and reveal coming for either Sam and Tara or Sidney. Surely, all about Sidney’s family has already been told, but the reveal could come from her husband’s side. It’s also possible that Scream 7 could copy Scream 4, which also had a family connection. Scream 7 needs to be original and play its cards wisely, as now its Ghostface killer could be predicted too easily, and there’s no need for more twists and reveals from Sidney’s life.
How Scream 7 Can Overcome Its Biggest Challenges (& Still Fit The Saga)
Scream 7 Can Be Unique & Still Be Part Of The Saga
There are certain elements Scream 7 has to have to feel as part of the saga, but this doesn’t mean that it has to do the same as previous movies. For starters, Scream 7 can stand out from the rest of the saga by really giving Sidney a happy ending, meaning that her husband and kids will survive and she will finally be free from more Ghostface murders. Scream 7 can also do things differently by letting its remaining two members of the Core Four, the Meeks twins, survive, instead of repeating their uncle’s, Randy Meeks, fate.
As for its Ghostface/Mark challenge, Scream 7 needs to be smart with its choice of its new killer. With Sidney back as the Final Girl and the main target, the new Ghostface has to have very strong and believable reasons to go after her after all those years – and, preferably, not be related to her. It would be very easy for Scream 7 to fall into the saga’s old patterns, but it’s the franchise’s last chance to make something unique again and give a satisfying ending to it and Sidney’s story.
