Despite a rocky start to its production, marked by the departure of Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega due to various controversies (including a social media fallout and pay disputes), the upcoming Scream VII is shaping up to make a strong return. However, they’re not the only ones who have left the franchise; the new-to-the-franchise director Christopher Landon also made an exit, leaving the director’s chair open and jeopardizing the whole production. Directors leaving isn’t usually a good sign, but this might be a one-off.
Still, there have been a number of developments when it comes to those who had left; the powers that be in Hollywood brought back the original Scream director, Kevin Williamson, right back to the director’s chair. Furthermore, rumors started suggesting that Patrick Dempsey will reprise his role as Detective Mark Kincaid, and Neve Campbell will return as Sidney Prescott after resolving her own pay dispute. Now, the newest rumors suggest that Courteney Cox is in talks to come back to the Scream franchise once again as Gale Weathers.
Given the circumstances regarding Barrera and Ortega’s departure from one of the most iconic cinematic slasher franchises, many believe that it was only a matter of time before Spyglass Media Group makes an offer to Friends star Courteney Cox. For those who aren’t as acquainted with Cox’s role in the franchise, Gale Weathers is probably as iconic as Campbell’s Sidney Prescott (the franchise’s protagonist). Gale is an unrelenting reporter covering the various Ghostface massacres, and having appeared in every installment thus far, she’s also one of the franchise’s faces.
It’s important to note that while it has been confirmed that Cox is in talks with Spyglass Media Group, her return to the franchise hasn’t been officially announced — probably because of the ongoing negotiations. However, should she return, there’s a good possibility for the upcoming installment to be Gale’s final run-in with Ghostface. Gale has become a more crucial character in recent installments, becoming an ally to the new cast of characters while also working against them, only so she could get a scoop on the killers’ identities.
Considering that 2022’s Scream made a rather divisive decision to kill off Dewey (portrayed by David Arquette) after he had survived multiple run-ins with the iconic killer in a mask and the fact that Gale was nearly killed in Scream VI, the upcoming movie could bring about the end of Gale. Now, the end of Gale implies one of two things: either she retires and goes to live somewhere far away, in which case we might see her again in future installments, or she’s violently retired from life, in which case the end of Gale is truly the end for the character.
Now, Courteney Cox’s return to Scream VII isn’t just a mere casting choice; it’s a strategic move. Following Campbell’s previous departure from the franchise due to pay disputes, Spyglass Media Group cast both Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega as the Carpenter sisters for 2022’s Scream. The two actors were also starring in the subsequent Scream VI. However, during the production of Scream VII, Melissa Barrera made several social media posts in support of Palestine, in which she described Israel’s actions as a “genocide and ethnic cleansing.”
Immediately following Barrera’s removal from production, it was announced that Jenna Ortega wasn’t reprising her role due to scheduling conflicts with filming Wednesday. It was later revealed that she left the production due to a salary dispute with Spyglass Media Group, effectively leaving the latter with no protagonists for their upcoming movie — which did delay the film’s production. So, with the return of Campbell as the iconic Sidney Prescott, casting Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers is a fantastic way to bridge the current gap and return the franchise to its roots.
That in itself is a double-edged sword Spyglass Media Group has been dancing with because shifting the focus back to legacy characters could take the spotlight away from newcomers like Jasmin Savoy Brown’s Mindy or Mason Gooding’s Chad. This could potentially lead to them being underdeveloped in future installments. On the other hand, the return of legacy characters such as Gale Weathers could be beneficial to Scream VII and the overall future of the franchise by appealing to the longtime fans of the franchise enticing them to rush to the theaters in support of the next installment.
It can also serve as the final send-off to those legacy characters and pass the torch to the franchise newcomers who are at risk of staying underdeveloped should the legacy characters persist through the franchise. By providing Sidney Prescott, Mark Kincaid, and Gale Weathers with an in-narrative exit, the franchise could ensure the arrival of new characters and storytellers into the spotlight going forward. However, it would seem that Courteney Cox and Spyglass Media Group are still waiting for that one decisive phone call, which might be their last with one another. Â