Among the many surprises Scream 7 has had so far is Patrick Dempsey’s Mark Kincaid not being Sidney Prescott’s (Neve Campbell) husband, and with this, the movie is safe from repeating the reboot movies’ most controversial mistake. The Scream reboot movies have found great success and have brought the beloved horror franchise back to life. Scream 2022 brought back the original three survivors of the past movies – Sidney, Gale (Courteney Cox), and Dewey (David Arquette) – and introduced a new generation of characters, led by sisters Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega).

Scream 6 became the first movie in the saga to not have Sidney involved at all, but after some big shake-ups during pre-production Scream 7, she’s now back as the main Final Girl. Melissa Barrera’s firing and Jenna Ortega dropping out of Scream 7 led to a creative rework, with Kevin Williamson now as director and Campbell back as Sidney, along with other legacy characters. After lots of speculation on Dempsey’s return as Mark Kincaid, Scream 7 surprised fans with a different actor as Sidney’s husband, which has now saved the movie from repeating a controversial mistake from the reboot timeline.

Patrick Dempsey Was Supposed To Play Mark Kincaid In Scream 7

No More Mark Kincaid In The Scream Franchise

Patrick Dempsey joined the Scream saga in 2000 in Scream 3. Dempsey played Mark Kincaid, a detective in Los Angeles who was ᴀssigned to investigate the Ghostface murders in Hollywood, which kicked off with the murder of Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber) and his girlfriend. Mark and Sidney met when she was taken to the police station, and at different points in Scream 3, the audience was led to believe Mark could be the Ghostface killer. Near the end of Scream 3, Mark was attacked by Ghostface, but the final scene revealed he survived and got together with Sidney.

Scream 4 revealed Sidney was single, but when she returned in Scream 2022, she was happily married and had children. Sidney’s husband was mentioned to be named “Mark”, and the audience was led to ᴀssume Sidney and Mark had reconnected at some point between Scream 4 and Scream 2022. Now, it’s confirmed that Sidney’s husband is Mark Evans, thus Patrick Dempsey isn’t returning in Scream 7, but he was originally planned to do so. In October 2024, Dempsey teased there were talks about his return to the Scream saga, but in March 2025, Dempsey revealed why those plans didn’t materialize.

Dempsey told Variety that returning to Scream 7 as Mark Kincaid “didn’t work out”, and with the Los Angeles fires and his current work schedule, they couldn’t find a way to make it work. At some point during the development of Scream 7, then, Mark Kincaid was supposed to be Sidney’s husband, but Dempsey’s schedule led to yet another creative rework, with Sidney’s husband becoming the unknown Mark Evans.

Scream 7’s Mark Kincaid Return Risked Repeating A Legacy Character Mistake

Scream 2022 Made A Controversial Decision With A Legacy Character

Having Mark Kincaid back in Scream 7 as Sidney’s husband would have been a great moment for fans of the saga and those who rooted for their relationship. However, there was a big risk of Scream 7 repeating a controversial legacy character mistake from the fifth movie. What’s known about Scream 7 is that Ghostface’s target will be Sidney’s family, and for that, there will be a time jump so her kids will be older.

Now, the Scream saga has given Sidney various tragedies when she’s the lead character (let’s not forget the murders began with her mother’s), so it was theorized that Scream 7 could see the death of Mark Kincaid. With their family in danger and being haunted by one or more Ghostface killers, it would have made sense if Mark “sacrificed” himself for his family’s safety, and though that would have been yet another personal tragedy for Sidney, it would have been sadly fitting with her story.

Killing Mark Kincaid would have repeated Scream 2022’s decision to get rid of a beloved legacy character. The fifth Scream movie revealed that Dewey and Gale divorced at some point after Scream 4, but they, along with Sidney, aided the new characters when a new wave of murders began. Dewey was killed by Ghostface at the hospital where Tara was staying, and this decision to kill Dewey was met with strong reactions from fans. Scream 7, then, had Mark Kincaid returned, would have risked repeating this same mistake with even worse consequences given his stronger link to Sidney.

Scream 7’s Mark Evans Casting Has Brought A Bigger Risk

Mark Evans’ Casting Sparked Some Theories

Spoilers for ᴀssᴀssination Nation & It’s A Wonderful Knife

Scream 7 now has its Mark Evans as it has cast Joel McHale as Sidney’s husband. No details are known about the character yet, but McHale’s casting quickly sparked some theories about Mark Evans’ possible role in Scream 7. It’s now theorized that McHale’s character will be one of the new Ghostface killers, mostly based on McHale’s charm and track record with this type of characters. In the 2018 comedy horror thriller ᴀssᴀssination Nation, McHale played a family man with a dark secret and an even darker side that comes to light when his double life is exposed.

Most recently, McHale appeared in the Christmas slasher comedy It’s A Wonderful Knife, in which he once more played a family man who, in an unexpected twist, is also a psycho serial killer. Surely, just like Kincaid dying at the hands of Ghostface, it would be tragic for Sidney if her husband turned out to be a serial killer, even more so one who attacked his own family (or, at the very least, planned those attacks).

On the other hand, those same elements that make McHale’s character so suspicious are the ones that Scream 7 can use to its favor. It won’t be surprising if Scream 7 uses McHale’s character as a red herring, but hopefully, if he isn’t Ghostface, he will survive and he, Sidney, and their kids can move on.

Either Way, Scream 7 Has Already Made A Sidney Mistake

Scream 7’s Rework Turned Out To Be Worse For Sidney

Scream 7 isn’t at risk of repeating the legacy character mistake Scream 2022 made, and there’s hope for Mark Evans to be a good person, but the movie has already made a big mistake with Sidney. After returning to Woodsboro to help Sam and Tara in the fifth Scream movie, the sequel justified her absence by revealing Sidney and her family moved to a safe place, with Gale even mentioning that she deserved her happy ending… because she absolutely did.

As good as it is to have the original Final Girl back in Scream 7, Sidney deserves her happy ending and being safe with her family after everything she has gone through. By bringing her back and making her the main character again, Scream 7 has undone the happy ending the previous movie gave her, and she might be on her way to experiencing more heartbreak and tragedy. Surely, Scream 7 can still give Sidney Prescott the ending she deserves, but it will have to give a good reason for her return and her family being attacked by a Ghostface killer.

Source: Variety.