David Arquette will return as Dewey Riley in writer-director Kevin Williamson’s meta horror sequel, Scream 7.
NB: The following contains spoilers for Scream (1996) and Scream 5 (2022).
Following a pre-production phase we’ll describe as ‘eventful’, meta horror sequel Scream 7 is currently filming. Meanwhile, another familiar name has been added to the cast: David Arquette, Variety reports, is to reprise his role as Woodsboro deputy sheriff, Dewey Riley.
Arquette isn’t the only actor from Scream past to make a surprise reappearance in the sequel. In January, not long after cameras began rolling on writer-director Kevin Williamson’s seventh entry, Matthew Lillard was said to be coming back as Stu. They’ll join series regulars Neve Campbell and Courtney Cox among the cast, which also includes Mckenna Grace, Scott Foley, Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown.
Long-time Scream series watchers may have noted the connection between Arquette and Lillard’s characters already – and here comes the spoiler bit: both Dewey and Stu are dead. In fact, Dewey now has the distinction of being a Scream character who was murdered by a future Oscar winner – Mikey Madison, who just won Best Actress for her role in Anora.
Read more: Scream 7 and the story conclusion we’ll almost certainly never see
Scream 7 is therefore shaping up to be a reunion, of sorts, and it’s a wonder how Williamson will address it all in his script. Given the knowing nature of the series as a whole, Williamson could also make a sly reference to all the behind-the-scenes turbulence up to this point. Reboot stars Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera dropped out in dramatic fashion, rapidly followed by original director Christopher Landon.
As producers thought about how they could retool the story arc to account for Ortega and Barrera’s absence, they finally made a deal with Neve Campbell, who’d previously exited the franchise over a pay dispute. By March 2024, Kevin Williamson was announced as Scream 7's new writer and director, while its release date was set for 2026.
The production’s worst troubles appear to be behind it, then. We’ll just have to wait and see how Williamson can stitch together all the threads left over from Scream 6 into a new slasher mystery that doesn’t include Barrera and Ortega.
Scream 7 is scheduled for release on the 27th February 2026.
