One of the most shocking aspects of Scream 7 is that Sidney Prescott was back after her Scream VI absence, with Neve Campbell’s return being the franchise’s one olive branch after its bungling of the previous film’s story. Scream 7 essentially had to reset the direction that the franchise had been going from throughout the 2020s, so when Scream 8 and beyond move into the future, the series can’t make this mistake again.
Videos by ComicBook.com
Scream 7 was a critical disaster, with it being perceived as one of the worst Scream movies ever. The behind-the-scenes issues that caused the film’s bizarre production and story are what caused this mess, and since Campbell has proven that she was willing to be done with the franchise once, it won’t be surprising if she leaves again. Luckily, Scream 7 set up one character who could be the perfect Sidney successor, as long as the franchise doesn’t repeat its same mistakes.
Tatum Is The Next Best Protagonist After Sidney Prescott
Scream VI explains Sidney’s absence by revealing that she has moved away, gotten married, and had kids. She hoped to escape the spotlight and repeated Ghostface killings, with her moving to a small town in Indiana. However, Scream 7 reveals that another set of Ghostface copycats has tracked her down, kicking off a new set of murders. One of the characters that the Ghostfaces have their eyes set on throughout the film is Tatum, the daughter of Sidney, who is named after the late Tatum Riley. When one of the Ghostfaces is revealed to be Sidney’s neighbor, she explains that she hopes to turn Tatum into the next Sidney by recreating similar events to the original Scream killings.
Luckily, Tatum and Sidney both survive, with them working together to take down the unmasked Ghostface killers. Tatum’s survival of a Ghostface killing means that she is the next Sidney in a sense, with her having to live through the trauma of multiple murders and the endangerment of family members. However, this makes her the perfect candidate to be the next face of Scream.
By the end of Scream 7, Tatum is in a similar place to where Sidney was after Scream. Future Scream movies could put Tatum in the spotlight by having Ghostface killers target her, no matter where she goes. This would allow the original Scream cast to pass the torch to the next generation of characters (as the franchise tried to do in 2022’s Scream), while also giving Neve Campbell a path to returning in the franchise. Future Scream movies could either have Sidney be a supporting character in Tatum’s story, acting as a mentor to her daughter. On the other hand, if Campbell doesn’t return, Tatum could still fill the role of a Prescott main character.
Scream Already Wasted Sam Carpenter, So It Needs To Avoid This Mistake With Tatum
No matter what Scream 8 does with Tatum, it needs to avoid the mistake of the franchise’s past. In an attempt to move away from Sidney, 2022’s Scream introduced two new protagonists: Tara and Sam Carpenter. Considering that they had to succeed an iconic slasher icon, they were surprisingly well received, no doubt in large part due to the fact that they were played by the incredibly talented Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera, respectively. They had connections to past Scream characters, and with Sam’s murderous tendencies coming to the forefront at the end of Scream VI, the future seemed bright.
Unfortunately, Scream completely abandoned these plans. Barrera was let go from a seventh film after online comments she made about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Soon after, Ortega and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett left the project, with it being speculated that the move was in solidarity with Barrera. So, with the directors and main actors missing, Scream had to pivot to another story about Sidney Prescott.
The decision to fire Barrera led to the current version of Scream 7, which, according to many critics, wasn’t the best. Now that the franchise has another chance with Tatum, it needs to avoid making this same mistake. If Scream 8 loses Tatum, then the future of the franchise is in jeopardy, as it can only run back to Neve Campbell so many times. Tatum may be the last shot that Scream has, and if it bungles this one too, it may be better to put Ghostface to rest.
What do you think? Leave a comment below and join the conversation now in the ComicBook Forum!
