“Scream 7” officially welcomes back the beloved Ghostface survivor

A fan-favorite cast member of the legendary “Scream” franchise has just signed up for “Scream 7!”

On Tuesday, it was announced that the star has officially signed on to answer Ghostface’s call in the latest installment of the long-running horror series. With their commitment, hope grows that another familiar face could soon join them.

A two-time Ghostface survivor is ready to take on the masked killer for a third time in Scream 7.

Reportedly Actor Mason Gooding will reprise the role of friendly jock Chad Meeks-Martin, a former member of the “Core Four” first formed in 2022’s “Scream” reboot/sequel.

The 28-year-old actress and son of Oscar winner Cuba Gooding Jr. now joins franchise mainstay Neve Campbell, returning after an absence from 2023’s Scream VI due to salary disputes, as well as new cast members Isabel May, Asa Germann, Celeste O’Connor, Mckenna Grace and Samrechner, per The Hollywood Reporter.

Kevin Williamson, screenwriter of the original 1996 film Scream, will direct the film and Guy Busick will write the story.

Gooding’s addition to Scream 7 makes for an interesting twist in the narrative moving forward due to the remaining Core Four and the actors who portray them.

Melissa Barrera, who joined Scream (2022) as protagonist Sam Carpenter and reprized the role in Scream 6, was famously fired from the franchise after making comments about the Israel-Hamas war in 2023.

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

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

As of this writing, there has been no official word on Brown’s return.

However, rumors online claim that the actress told fans at the recent Comic Con Expo in Sao Paulo that she would not be appearing in Scream 7.

Chad’s presence in Scream 7 is a (movie) miracle considering the horrific nature in which he was left in Scream 6.

(Spoilers ahead for “Scream 6.”)

In order to lure Ghostface to the public, Chad is chased in a movie theater by not one, but two masked figures.

He is then caught by the murderers and stabbed repeatedly. With what appears to be his last breath, Chad tells Tara, who is a little ahead of him, to keep running. In the final moments of the film, a battered but alive Tara overhears paramedics telling each other that they have found another survivor of the carnage.

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

In conversation with Weekly entertainment In 2023, Gooding admitted that Chad’s amazing survival was a coincidence – because he wasn’t even supposed to survive “Scream (2022).”

“I was kind of a decoy,” he explained. “The script I was first given said that I died. I don’t think you necessarily go into a ‘Scream’ movie and expect to live every time. It wasn’t until we started filming ‘Scream 5’ that I was told I would survive and make it to the next one.

As you might expect, plot details for Scream 7 were scarce. However, the addition of new castmate Isabella May in November reinforced rumors that the new film’s events could take place years after Scream 6’s schedule.

As reported here The explosionMay is set to play the adult daughter of Sidney Prescott (Campbell), the series’ original heroine.

Sidney’s final role in Scream (2022) saw her with young children and no mention of other children with husband Mark Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey).

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

However, none of these factors have been confirmed – apart from the identity of May’s character.

“Scream 7” is currently scheduled to premiere on February 27, 2026.

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