Scream 7: Meta Commentary Takes A Backseat As Sidney's Family Becomes The Focus

The Scream saga continues to expand now with its seventh installment, simply titled Scream 7, and it’s already changing the saga’s legacy in one unexpected way. 2026 is bringing some highly-anticipated horror movies, and among them is the latest entry in the Scream movie series, which is bringing back the original Final Girl of the franchise, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell).

After Melissa Barrera’s firing and Jenna Ortega dropping out of the project, Scream 7 went back to basics with Sidney as its main character, but Sidney now has a family. Thanks to this, Scream 7 will see a new Ghostface killer (or killers) targeting Sidney’s teenage daughter, Tatum (Isabel May), also putting the rest of her family at risk.

Scream 7 has already teased the return of dead characters (though exactly how is unknown), and the latest tease is one that, if true, will completely change the saga’s legacy in perhaps the worst way possible.

The Scream saga began in 1996, and it stood out for its meta commentary. This became the saga’s trademark, with every movie including clever meta commentary based on current horror and film trends, as well as commentary on current social issues. For example, Scream 2 fired shots at sequels, and Scream 2022 did so with legacy sequels.

While Scream 7 was expected to follow this franchise trend, it will actually break this decades-long tradition for the first time. Speaking to Empire Magazine (via GamesRadar), franchise creator and Scream 7 director Kevin Williamson revealed that meta commentary isn’t a focus in the new movie, instead prioritizing its family story and Sidney’s legacy.

While Williamson's comments aren’t about the total absence of meta commentary in Scream 7, less focus on it is a big change in the saga that impacts its legacy after this was the main element in all movies, and which was perfectly blended into the characters’ stories.

How Scream 7 Is Already Different From The Rest Of The Saga

Although no focus on meta commentary in Scream 7 is a surprise, I can’t really say it’s that unexpected given how different the movie already is from the rest of the saga. The Scream reboot trilogy was supposed to focus on Sam (Barrera) and Tara (Ortega), along with their friends, while Sidney finally got to live a quiet and peaceful life.

Sidney returned in Scream 2022 as a supporting character and to pass the torch to Sam and Tara as the new Final Girls, with Sidney absent from Scream VI as she had moved to a safe place with her family. With Barrera and Ortega gone and Sam and Tara’s stories left unfinished, the saga opted to bring Sidney back, undoing the perfect ending it had already given her.

Scream 7 is also bringing dead characters back, though exactly how that is going to happen is unclear. Matthew Lillard’s Stu, David Arquette’s Dewey, and Scott Foley’s Roman are confirmed to be part of Scream 7, and though the previous movies in the reboot trilogy included Billy (Skeet Ulrich), this was justified as he was a hallucination of Sam, his daughter.

Without Sam, it’s to be seen how Stu, Dewey, and Roman will return, but Scream 7 has to be very careful with how it handles these characters’ returns. Add Scream 7 not paying much attention to meta commentary, and the movie is already a standout in the saga, but hopefully, this will all be for the better.

Scream 7 Has Been A Risk From The Beginning

Scream 7 was set up to be different and a risk since it was in pre-production. Barrera’s firing and Ortega leaving the project completely led to a major retooling of Scream 7 as it was left without its main characters. Although Sidney will always be the franchise’s Final Girl, her return isn’t that exciting, as she was already given a fitting happy ending.

Bringing Sidney back required a time jump so that Scream 7 can focus on her family and make them Ghostface’s targets, as her children were too young during the events of Scream 2022 and Scream VI. The time jump is also a risky move and will make it even more difficult to explain Sam and Tara’s absence.

Scream 7 has many challenges to overcome, and it’s only a matter of waiting to see how well it does or how much not having Sam, Tara, and not focusing on meta commentary will affect what’s supposed to be the end of the reboot series.

Source: Empire Magazine (via GamesRadar).