It's official: it's 2026, which means we can finally say Scream 7 comes out this year. It comes out next month, in fact, so we really haven't got long to wait until we reunite with Neve Campbell's returning Final Girl and that pesky, blade-wielding Ghostface.
For all you need to know on Scream 7, the most recent follow-up to one of the best slasher movies of all time, then look no further. We've got you covered, from confirmed cast, of which there are a ton of surprises (here's looking at you, Matthew Lillard and David Arquette), to plot details, cast quotes, and more.
So what are you waiting for? Scroll on, and get up to speed with one of genre fans' most anticipated upcoming horror movies for 2026. Make sure you'll be right back, too, as we'll keep updating this with new info all the way up to February 27...
Scream 7 release date
After a series of delays and production roadblocks, the Scream 7 release date is now confirmed as February 27, 2026.
It's a relief that we finally know when Scream 7 will be hitting our screens. The upcoming horror movie has been in the works since August 2023. Due to the SAG-AFTRA strikes and some casting changes, the sequel has been in limbo for quite some time. In December 2023, Christopher Landon also stepped down as director, so needless to say, we were all worried about Ghostface's fate.
However, it seems the flick's new director, Kevin Williamson (writer of the original 1996 Scream), has set things back on track. We're hopeful that Scream 7's release date is now set in stone, and there will be no more delays on the horizon.
Scream 7 trailer
The latest promo for Scream 7, which you can watch above, turns the nostalgia up to 11, as it claims that "every phone call" and "every killer" has led to the events of the film. "I've been planning this for a very long time," Ghostface says via voiceover, as we see shots of creepy sketches and characters getting sliced and diced. "Your daughter is the same age you were when this all started."
"If you hurt her..." Sidney replies, before Ghostface cuts her off with a, "I'm not going to hurt her, until you're here to see it." Eek!
Prior to that, Paramount released the first full-length Scream 7 trailer on October 30, 2025. In that clip, we see a couple staying at the "psycho killer B&B". It turns out that if the name wasn't a giveaway already, the vacation isn't exactly the safest choice as they encounter a killer wearing the iconic Ghostface mask. We also see Sidney back in action in the clip with her and her daughter being flagged as the killers' next targets as well.
There's a lot of action in the teaser, and it does have some very strong Halloween (2018) vibes as we see Sidney fight back against Ghostface, as they pop out of corridors and skulk through the shadows like Michael Myers, too.
Scream 7 plot
Scream 7 is due to take a sharp turn away from the plotlines set up in its predecessors. With Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega not returning for the sequel, Sam's storyline is seemingly done after she took a page from her father's (Billy Loomis) book and stabbed her enemies.
From how Scream 6 ended (read our Scream 6 ending explained guide for more details on that), it seemed like Scream 7 would have shown us a survivor-turned-slasher and potentially have Sam as the next Ghostface. However, with that out the window, Scream 7 is going to go back to its franchise roots and have us follow Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott once again.
During an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Campbell shared that Scream 7 will be centered around her character, and fans can expect a similar dynamic to the one we've seen in the recent Halloween movies with Jamie Lee Curtis and Michael Myers. David Gordon Green's 2018 Halloween showed us Laurie Strode fighting back against the man who traumatized her when she was a teen. Sidney obviously went through something very similar.
Judging by the latest teaser and poster, which features the tagline "Fear hits home", it seems likely that the movie will shift things back to Woodsboro. Scream 6 moved the thrills and blood spills to New York City, but now that the franchise has ditched Sam and Tara, it wouldn't have made sense to keep things in the Big Apple. That said, Sidney wasn't living in Woodsboro in Scream 5, so that's just an educated guess at this point...
Of course, Ghostface has been a collection of different killers over the years, so we're keen to see how everything ties together. Now that we know Matthew Lillard has joined the cast, we can assume he survived the 1996 flick. It's a theory fans have long backed, despite Wes Craven explicitly confirming Stu's fate in the original's director commentary. After all, we never did see his death on-screen. Might he have come back to get revenge on Sidney for killing his best pal? Might he have teamed up with Scott Foley's Roman Bridger, Scream 3's Ghostface, who'll also be back, to settle some unfinished business? Or is Sidney literally seeing ghosts? Only time will tell...
Scream 7 cast
There are some big changes when it comes to the Scream 7 cast. Melissa Barrera was fired from the sequel in 2023, before Jenna Ortega also announced her departure. "It had nothing to do with pay or scheduling," Ortega later explained. "The Melissa stuff was happening, and it was all kind of falling apart.
"If Scream 7 wasn't going to be with that team of directors and those people I fell in love with, then it didn't seem like the right move for me in my career at the time," she added. Their characters, sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter, have been the main focus of the Scream plot since Scream 5.
While their Core Four pals won't be appearing, Mason Gooding's Chad and Jasmin Savoy Brown's Mindy will act as the connective tissue between Scream 6's abandoned storyline and Scream 7. The same goes for Courteney Cox, who'll be back as Gale.
Neve Campbell is, obviously, reprising her role as Sidney, while Isabel May is tasked with bringing her teenage daughter to life. Despite everyone assuming that Sidney ended up with Scream 3's Mark Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey) when she mentioned her husband of the same name in Scream 5, it turns out she's actually married to a Mark Evans, who'll be played by Community's Joel McHale.
Matthew Lillard will be back as Sidney's former high school classmate and OG Ghostface Stu Macher, while David Arquette and Scott Foley are returning as deceased characters Dewey and Roman – Gale's lovable ex and Sidney's murderous half-brother, respectively. We can't wait to see how the movie is going to explain that one!
As for who else will feature, we've got the complete list of every Scream 7 cast member below:
- Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott
- Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers
- Mason Gooding as Chad Meeks-Martin
- Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin
- Matthew Lillard as Stu Macher
- Scott Foley as Roman Bridger
- David Arquette as Dewey Riley
- Joel McHale as Mark Evans, Sidney's husband
- Isabel May as Sidney's daughter
- Celeste O'Connor
- Asa Germann
- McKenna Grace
- Mark Consuelos
- Sam Rechner
- Anna Camp
- Michelle Randolph
- Jimmy Tatro
- Ethan Embry
Will Scream 7 be the last Scream movie?
We'll admit, this wasn't something we were really considering until the callback-heavy latest teaser came out and claimed that "every phone call" and "every killer" has led up to the events of Scream 7. Rumors of an eighth movie have been circling online, but with that marketing, it can't help but feel like they might be wrapping this story up for good.
"Neve wants to go back to the first one and find the suspense and really concentrate on scary and not bloody," director Kevin Williamson explained in an excerpt first posted by Bloody Disgusting. "She was smart. She goes, 'This is the time to do it because we’re moving away from New York. We’re going back to Sidney's life. This is the time to reset a little bit.' And I'm like, 'Yup, let’s do it.'" Are they resetting to kick off another trilogy, or are they going back to the beginning to close the series out in a satisfying way?
If you are after more thrills, check out our list of the best horror movies on Netflix. Or you can read our Scream 6 review to catch up on all the slasher fun.
