Scream 7screenwriter,Guy Busick, and director,Kevin Williamson, are truly out here playing god, as Deadline revealed thatDavid Arquettehas officially signed on to reprise his character, Dewey Riley. For those who will remember, Arquette’s beloved police officer was sliced and diced thanks to Oscar-winnerMikey Madison’s Amber Freeman back in 2022’sScream. Well, now he’s back, along with fellow deceased franchise favorites,Scott Foley’s Roman Bridger andMatthew Lillard’s Stu Macher. We don’t fully understand how far off the rails this movie is going, but we love the unhinged energy of it all.
Arquette’s Deputy Dewey Riley is as legacy as they get, holding onto his life for the first fourScreammovies alongsideNeve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott andCourteney Cox’s Gale Weathers. The character went through some deeply heavy losses throughout the franchise, after first grieving the murder of his sister, Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan), in 1996’sScream. From there, he fell in and out of love with Gale Weathers, with the pair tying the knot only to grow apart and never truly fix things prior to his own murder in the franchise’s fifth film. Throughout it all, Dewey remained a fan-favorite thanks to his boyish charm that became a rugged mess of handsome by the time his final turn in the universe came and went.
As mentioned, Arquette’s Dewey will join the previously killed-off characters played by Lillard and Foley in the upcoming seventh feature, alongside other returning members such as Campbell, Cox,Mason Gooding, andJasmin Savoy Brown. New names joining the ranks includeJoel McHale(Community),Isabel May(1883),Mark Consuelos(Riverdale),Asa Germann(Gen V),Celeste O’Connor(Madame Web),Mckenna Grace(A Friend of the Family) and more.
Okay, But What Is Going On?
While we’re going to absolutely love seeing Arquette’s return as Dewey and Lillard and Foley back in action as Stu and Roman, respectfully, what the heck is going on withScream 7? Well, we’re just as lost as you, but we’re certainly all ears for theories — like an incredibly interesting one from Collider’sPerri Nemiroff, that states thiscould be the franchise’sNew Nightmare. For a refresher, back in 1994,Wes Cravenreleased a new and interesting installment in hisA Nightmare on Elm Streetfranchise that saw reality blur with fiction as iconic slasher, Freddy Krueger, stepped beyond the screen and came after the cast members of the franchise. Could this be what Williamson and Busick are doing withScream 7?
For now, we’ll just need to keep speculating, asScream 7doesn’t slash into cinemas until July 23, 2025. Stay tuned to Collider for more information.
Source:Deadline
