The impending return of multiple characters in Scream 7 has been explained by screenwriter Guy Busick. The slasher sequel will only feature two of the Core Four characters who were introduced in 2022’s Scream and returned in Scream VI, namely Chad (Mason Gooding) and Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown), after their co-star Melissa Barrera was fired following pro-Palestine social media posts and Jenna Ortega subsequently exited the project as well. The upcoming Scream 7 also sees Neve Campbell reprising the role of franchise final girl Sidney Prescott after having skipped out on the sixth movie due to a pay dispute.

ComicBook recently interviewed screenwriter Guy Busick when he was promoting his new movie Final Destination Bloodlines. However, the conversation also touched on Scream 7, and he offered some insight into how and why Sidney Prescott and the Meeks-Martin twins will return in the new movie, which was directed by franchise screenwriter Kevin Williamson. He revealed that the original idea for the movie had to be scrapped amid its chaotic pre-production, but he and his Scream and Scream VI co-writer James Vanderbilt found “an organic way” for the Meeks-Martin twins to join the story when developing the treatment.

He also revealed that “we always wanted to do a Sidney movie” and that they found a “really specific reason” for her to return, sharing that there is a similar reason why Chad and Mindy are returning to the town where the movie takes place, and that they are connected to Sidney through Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), who is now the only character to have appeared in every Scream movie. Read Busick’s full quote below:

[The original Scream 7] was a completely different thing. We weren’t able to use what we had in the previous iteration for this one. [We] just had to start from scratch, which was a bummer. We were excited about what we had for that movie. We wanted to do one more “Core Four” movie. We know the fans love those characters. We love those characters. We created those characters. I would love to see, in some universe, the continuation of their characters, in some way. But we weren’t able to port over the stuff from the other story. It was like, “Okay, here is what the universe dealt us.’” We always wanted to do a Sidney movie and so it was like, “All right, let’s get into it and why now and why this one?”

I don’t want to give anything away about the reason [Scream 7] had to be a Sidney movie because there’s a really cool reason. In all these movies, you have to ask, “Why now? What is the thing Scream is commenting on now?” Scream is always in a conversation with the audience about the state of movies, the state of horror movies and in particular, franchises.

There is a really specific reason why Sidney is in this movie. I will say there is a reason and we were happy with it when we cracked it. We went to Neve Campbell and said, “This is why. This is why Sidney now.” Neve was like, “Oh, I get that.” I pitched Kevin [Williamson] this first, too. He got it and then I pitched the studio. I came up with the story with my co-writer on [Scream] 5 and 6, James Vanderbilt.

I believe it was James that came up with it. I want to give credit where credit is due, but it was an organic way why they would be in this movie. I don’t want to spoil anything, but I will say it’s through Gale. She’s the connective tissue in 5 and 6 and she’s in this. New York was obviously a big part of that. She bonded with those four and there’s a reason why these two come to this town where the action is happening.

What This Means For Scream 7

Chad & Mindy’s Return Could Tie Into Other Legacy Characters

While Busick’s insight into the story of the slasher sequel is rather opaque, the fact that there is a specific reason for Sidney, Chad, and Mindy to return after their ordeals in the previous Scream movies most likely means that Sidney is once again the target of a killer who has taken on the Ghostface mantle. Chad and Mindy’s presence could imply that there is a family connection involved, as they are the niece and nephew of Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy), a major character from the original trilogy who was killed during the events of Scream 2.

This could tie in with the fact that there are multiple returning characters in Scream 7 who seemed to have died in the previous installments, namely longtime recurring character Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and former Ghostface killers Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) and Roman Bridger (Scott Foley). While the characters could potentially appear as hallucinations, much like Stu’s partner Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) did in the previous two installments, their return to Sidney’s life could tie directly into the branches of the franchise family that most directly impact the Meeks-Martin twins.

Our Take On The Scream 7 Update

There Are A Lot Of Disparate Pieces In The Sequel

The fact that the cast was reshuffled late into pre-production left Busick in a complicated situation when crafting the story of Scream 7. While the presence of multiple ᴅᴇᴀᴅ characters makes me nervous about the amount of retconning that may take place in the movie, it seems that he has made the best of the situation with which he was presented and thought carefully about how all the pieces would fit together. Hopefully it does all come together in a way that feels as organic as he promises.

Source: ComicBook