Scream 7 is about to bring the long-running horror franchise back to theaters, and seven spoilers have already been revealed. Having skipped out on Scream 6, Neve Campbell is making her long-awaited return in the seventh movie as Sidney Prescott, joining Friends star Courtney Cox, once again playing Gale Weathers. The franchise veterans will be surrounded by other returning cast members and new additions, including Sidney's daughter, Tatum, in a major role. But Scream 7 will be missing some core figures, most notably, Melissa Barrera won't be reprising Sam Carpenter, nor will Jenna Ortega return as her sister, Tara.
The synopsis hints that a new Ghostface will emerge in a quiet town while Sidney's "darkest fears are realized" and her daughter becomes the target, prompting her mission to "put an end to the bloodshed once and for all:"
"When a new Ghostface killer emerges in the quiet town where Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has built a new life, her darkest fears are realized as her daughter (Isabel May) becomes the next target. Determined to protect her family, Sidney must face the horrors of her past to put an end to the bloodshed once and for all."
While Scream 7's true horrors won't be exposed until February 27, 2026, the first trailer arrived just in time for Halloween. Between hints in the horrifying first look and leaks, seven big spoilers are already out in the open for Scream 7...
The Scream Franchise’s New Setting
In an interview with ComicBook, Scream 7 writer Guy Busick confirmed that the 2026 follow-up takes place "more than two years" after the last installment, allowing Sidney's kids to have aged up to take bigger roles.
At this time, Sidney has formed a peaceful life in the town of Pine Grove, Indiana, where she met and married her husband, Police Chief Mark Evans, and has been raising her three children away from danger... Until now.
Set photos posted on Reddit revealed some of the backdrop for Pine Grove, including the high school that Tatum and her friends presumably attend, along with a coffee shop, for which there have been rumors that Sidney will own.
Meet Scream 7's New Characters
Unfortunately, Scream 7 will be missing Melissa Barrera's Sam Carpenter, along with her sister Tara, who Jenna Ortega played. But the Scream show must go on, and the 2026 horror will introduce several new characters in their stead, some of whom were detailed in a post on Patreon by scooper Daniel Richtman.
While codenames shadowed the characters' identities, Taylor (now officially called Tatum and played by Isabel May) was noted in Richtman's post as the late teens daughter of Neve Campbell's Sydney Prescott, a franchise veteran.
The 17 to 18-year-old characters who surround Tatum include her boyfriend, the "heartbreaker" of her group, another friend who is described as the rich "queen bee," and her "hot but creepy neighbor with a Ted Bundy vibe."
Supposedly, McKenna Grace's Hannah is the "queen bee," Celeste O'Connor's Chloe will be the "heartbreaker," Sam Rechner's Ben debuts as Tatum's boyfriend, and Asa Germann's Lucas fills the unsettling neighbor kid role.
Another new player comes through the 40 to 50-year-old Jessica, the mother to the Bundy-like Logan, who will also be a friend and neighbor to Sidney, brought to life by Netflix's You actress Anna Camp.
Further news characters are rumored to include Joel McHale's Mark Evans (Sidney's husband and Pine Grove's police chief) and Mark Consuelos' Robbie Rivers (a reporter who bothers Gale Weathers while she is in town).
Scream 7’s Two Main Storylines
According to a rumor shared by scooper MyTimeToShineHello, Scream 7 will be split between "two main storylines" and groups, while "each of them will have to deal with Ghostface," perhaps pointing toward multiple killers.
These two groups will be led by Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott, presumably joined by Courtney Cox's Gale Weathers, along with Chad and Mindy Meeks-Martin, played by the returning Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown.
The second will focus on her daughter, Tatum Prescott, and her friends, with the trailer pointing toward how these storylines will intersect, as Sidney used CCTV to guide her endangered teen through shooting Ghostface through a wall.
The Original Ghostface's Return
Before Matthew Lillard joins the MCU in Daredevil: Born Again Season 2, he will officially reprise Stu Macher, one of the original Ghostface killers. What makes this more confusing is that Macher was killed by Sidney by dropping a TV on him.
He isn't the only Scream killer coming back, as Scott Foley will reprise Roman Bridger from the third installment, who holds the franchise's kill record at nine.
Alongside the confirmed Ghostfaces, Daniel Richtman stated that Skeet Ulrich will also reprise Billy Lumis, Stu Macher's co-killer in the original Scream.
Stu Macher’s AI-Centric Plot Twist
Another scoop from Daniel Richtman may help explain how these familiar Ghostfaces return in Scream 7, as he noted that "AI, deep fake, and past killers will play a significant role" in the movie.
Furthermore, Richtman added that "the killer calls via FaceTime" and uses this AI technology to impersonate Matthew Lillard's Stu Macher (and presumably other past killers) to mess with Sidney Prescott and the others.
This leak should ease many fans' fears that the Scream franchise was gearing up to resurrect past killers, instead using them as a tool for the new Ghostface to frighten the leads while offering commentary on AI in the real world.
The Ghostface Cult
There have long been theories about a cult of Ghostface that is stalking Sidney Prescott and her loved ones, aiming to inflict terror upon them.
Such a cult was even part of original writer Kevin Williamson's plans for Scream 3, with a group of Ghostfaces active at Woodsboro High School, orchestrated by Stu Macher from behind bars, as it was revealed he had survived. However, those plans were scrapped when Ehren Kruger tagged in to pen the threequel.
Fans are more convinced than ever that Scream 7 will finally introduce this Ghostface cult, with the doors even open to include Williamson's original vision of Stu Macher's role, as Matthew Lillard is back for the movie.
Only adding to this theory, Daniel Richtman claimed that "there will be more than two killers again" in Scream 7 after five were present in the last installment, fueling the rumors that the Ghostface cult is about to debut.
Scream 7 is reportedly being eyed as the "first chapter in a new planned trilogy," according to Daniel Richtman. It's easy to see Tatum Prescott taking on a major role in Scream 7, 8, and 9, perhaps working with her mother and other franchise icons to take down this new Ghostface cult.
The Macher Family Conspiracy
The Ghostface who calls Sidney Prescott in Scream 7's first trailer declares that her new hometown of Pine Grove, Indiana, "reminds me of where he grew up," referring to the franchise's original locale of Woodsboro, California.
Fans are certain that Stu Macher actor Matthew Lillard's voice is the one to deliver the trailer's final line, "This is gonna be fun," seemingly in a callback to when he goffily said, "It was fun" as he was unmasked as Ghostface.
In terms of who is using Stu Macher, Billy Lumis, and Roman Bridger to cause terror in Scream 7, many have speculated that Stu's sister, Leslie Macher, would be a logical choice, fitting well with the promise that Sidney will face the "horrors of her past," given that she was the one to kill the first Ghostface.
Leslie remains unseen in the Scream franchise, but her son, Vince Schneider, featured in the 2022 fifth installment as an antagonist. Many have theorized that Anna Camp's neighbor Jessica may, in fact, be Leslie Macher, hiding her identity and forming a friendship to fool Sidney, especially as her resemblance to Matthew Lillard is certainly enough to sell them as siblings.
This would leave Jessica's son, Logan, as Stu's nephew, and, given his description akin to serial killer Ted Bundy, it wouldn't be surprising if this mother-son duo were Scream 7's secret villains and the next Ghostfaces.
If the rumors of a Ghostface cult were proven correct, Leslie Macher could be outed as its leader or a key figure, perhaps joined by the friends and relatives of other killers who have been taken down by Sidney, Gale, and others in the past.
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