Courteney Cox Sets Return Alongside Mason Gooding

The cast list for Scream VII is coming together. Variety has reported per sources that Courteney Cox will reprise her role as Gale Weathers in the forthcoming film, which places her alongside Neve Campbell and Mason Gooding on the franchise’s list of returning actors.

Scream VII will be released in theaters on Feb. 27, 2025. Kevin Williamson will direct the film with a screenplay from Guy Busick. Williamson took on the role for the seventh installment of the franchise after its previously attached director Christopher Landon made his exit in 2023. “It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare,” Landon said at the time. “And my heart did break for everyone involved.”

“It’s been nearly 30 years since my very first script, Scream, was directed by the legendary Wes Craven. I never would have predicted what it would become. Or that I would be directing the seventh installment of the franchise,” Williamson shared earlier this year. “I am overcome with gratitude and excitement, and I can’t wait to take this journey with Neve and the entire Scream family as we bring back Sidney Prescott in the next chapter of the Scream franchise. Thank you to all the Scream fans. You are the gift that keeps giving.”

Campbell’s appearance as Sidney Prescott in Scream VII will mark her first appearance since 2022’s Scream. She was notably absent from Scream VI due to a salary conflict with the film’s producers. Cox and Gooding, who plays Chad Meeks-Martin, both appeared in the most recent installation.

Their return follows the unexpected departure of Melissa Barrera, who was fired from the horror franchise by production company Spyglass Media Group after sharing social media posts raising awareness for the humanitarian crisis in Gaza. Fan-favorite Jenna Ortega also exited Scream VII shortly after Barrera was removed from the project.

“I’m not the first person that’s happened to, but it was shocking,” Barrera told Rolling Stone earlier this year. “I think everything that happened was very transparent, on both sides, and I know who I am, and I know that what I said always came from a place of love and a place of humanity and a place of human rights and a place of freedom for people, which shouldn’t be controversial.”