When will Scream 7 be released? Neve Campbell announces release date

Returning star Neve Campbell has announced the release date for Scream 7, her return to the iconic franchise. Ghostface will be back on the big screen in 2026.

Campbell and Scream 7 director Kevin Williamson posted a picture together of the release date. The image shows a bloody daily calendar with one of Ghostface’s knives pierced through it. Scream 7 release date is Friday, February 27, 2026.

“The year 2026 will be a killer,” Campbell’s caption read.

The release date will be almost three full years after Scream 6’s release in 2023. The fifth and sixth installments of the franchise were released approximately 14 months apart.

Neve Campbell’s Scream 7 returns

Neve Campbell will return as Sidney Prescott in Scream 7. Due to a contract dispute, she had to cancel the sixth part of the franchise.

Now she’s ready to return as the iconic final girl. The plot of the upcoming seventh film is unknown, but it is expected that Sidney will play a crucial role in it.

The production of “Scream 7” experienced a tumultuous rollercoaster ride. Originally, the film would likely have brought back Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, who led the new-age cast of the last two installments.

However, Barrera was apparently fired from the project after posts about the Israel-Hamas conflict. Shortly afterwards, Ortega also left due to scheduling conflicts.

This put the franchise in a vulnerable position. The directors of the fifth and sixth Scream films – Radio Silence’s Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett – left the franchise to direct Abigail (starring Barrera).

Kevin Williamson, the franchise’s founder, will take the director’s chair for the seventh time. He previously wrote the first two and fourth parts. Although he didn’t write Scream 3 for Wes Craven, he remained the producer of it.

After the Radio Silence duo took over, Williamson returned to the franchise as executive producer. He was executive producer of the fifth and sixth parts. Williamson also wrote “I Know What You Did Last Summer.”

The Scream franchise

The Scream franchise began with the first film in 1996. It’s about a high school student, Sidney Prescott, and her friends who are terrorized by Ghostface on the anniversary of her mother’s death.

It was a surprise success, grossing over $100 million at the box office on a budget of $14 million. Less than a year later, in 1997, a sequel was greenlit and hit theaters. The second film also exceeded the $100 million mark.

Over two years later, in February 2000, a third part appeared. It grossed over $160 million and was another huge success. A fourth film was released over a decade later, but grossed only $97 million worldwide and was the lowest-grossing film domestically.

Over a decade later, a fifth film was released, simply titled Scream. After opening at $30 million, the new tranche totaled over $130 million.

The fifth installment featured a new cast, including Barrera and Ortega, and reunited them with the original troupe of Campbell, David Arquette and Courtney Cox.

Like the first two parts, the fifth and sixth parts were released almost a year apart. Scream 6 is one of the franchise’s biggest hits, grossing over $108 million domestically and $166 million worldwide. Paramount is probably hoping that the seventh will be a similarly big success.