‘Scream 7’ officially welcomes beloved Ghostface survivor

A fan-favorite cast member from the iconic “Scream” franchise just tapped for “Shout 7!”

On Tuesday, news broke that the star had officially signed on to answer Ghostface’s call in the latest increment of the long-running horror series. With their participation comes the hope that another familiar face will soon join them.

A two-time Ghostface survivor is primed and ready to take on the masked killer in a third round in “Scream 7.”

Actor Mason Gooding will reportedly reprise the role of friendly jock Chad Meeks-Martin, a “Core Four” alum first established in the 2022 “Scream” reboot/sequel.

The 28-year-old actor and son of Oscar winner Cuba Gooding, Jr. now joins franchise mainstay Neve Campbell, returning after an absence from 2023’s “Scream VI” over pay disputes, and the new cast members Isabel May, Asa Germann, Celeste O’Connor, Mckenna Grace and Sam Rechner, according to The Hollywood Reporter.

Kevin Williamson, screenwriter of the original 1996 film “Scream,” will direct the film with Guy Busick writing the story.

Gooding’s addition to “Scream 7” is an interesting twist in the ongoing narrative because of the remaining “Core Four” and the actors who play them.

Melissa Barrera, who joined “Scream (2022)” as protagonist Sam Carpenter and reprized the role in “Scream 6,” was fired from the franchise following comments she made about the 2023 war between Israel and Hamas.

Days later, actress Jenna Ortega, who played Sam’s on-screen sister Tara, revealed that she had quietly requested to be released from “Scream 7” months before the controversy due to scheduling conflicts with the hit Netflix series. “Wednesday.”

This leaves Jasmin Savoy Brown, who played Mindy Meeks-Martin, Chad’s twin sister and the final piece of “Core Four.”

As of this writing, no official statement has been made regarding Brown’s return.

However, Internet rumors insist that the actress told her fans at the recent Comic Con Expo in Sao Paulo that she would not appear in “Scream 7.”

Chad’s presence in “Scream 7” is a (movie) miracle, considering the horrible nature of what he was left with in “Scream 6.”

(Spoilers ahead for “Scream 6”).

In an attempt to lure Ghostface into the public eye, Chad is chased into a movie theater by not one, but two masked figures.

The killers subsequently catch him and stab him again and again. With his seemingly last breath, Chad tells Tara, a little ahead of him, to keep running. In the film’s final moments, Tara, battered but alive, overhears paramedics telling each other that they have found another survivor of the massacre.

The audience then sees Chad being carried out on a stretcher, not unlike another Ghostface victim in multiple “Scream” films, former Woodsboro Sheriff Dewey Riley (David Arquette).

talking to Entertainment Weekly In 2023, Gooding admitted that Chad’s amazing survival was a fluke, because he wasn’t even supposed to survive “Scream (2022).”

“They baited me and switched me,” he explained. “The script I got the first time said I died. I don’t think you necessarily go into a ‘Scream’ movie expecting to live every time. It wasn’t until we started filming ‘Scream 5’ that I was told I was going to survive and go on to the next.” following”.

As expected, details about the plot of “Scream 7” have been scarce. However, the inclusion of new castmate Isabella May in November gave weight to the rumor that the events of the new film could take place years after the “Scream 6” timeline.

As reported here in The explosionMay will play the adult daughter of Sidney Prescott (Campbell), the franchise’s original heroine.

Sidney’s last turn in “Scream (2022)” saw her with young children and not to mention other children with her husband Mark Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey).

If May’s role is to be believed, then the potential events of “Scream 7” would apparently take place long after the events of “Scream 6.”

However, none of these factors have been confirmed, except for the identity of May’s character.

As of now, “Scream 7” will debut on February 27, 2026.

In the meantime, catch up on “Scream (2022)” and “Scream 6” on Paramount+.