“Scream 7” officially welcomes back beloved survivor Ghostface

A fan-favorite cast member from the hit “Scream” series has just signed on to…Screaming 7!

News broke on Tuesday that the star has officially signed on to answer Ghostface’s call in the latest installment of the long-running horror series. And with their participation comes hope that another familiar face will join them soon.

A Ghostface survivor is groomed twice and ready to take on the masked killer in round three in “Scream 7.”

According to reports, the actor Mason Gooding He will reprise his role as the friendly jock, Chad Meeks-Martin, an alumnus of the “Core Four” who debuted in the 2022 reboot/sequel of “Scream.”

The 28-year-old performer and son of Oscar-winner Cuba Gooding Jr. now joins franchise mainstay Neve Campbell, making her return after missing 2023’s ‘Scream VI’ due to salary disputes, and new cast members Isabelle May, Asa German, Celeste O’Connor, McKenna Grace, and Sam Richner, per Hollywood Reporter.

Kevin Williamson, screenwriter of the original 1996 “Scream” film, will direct the film while Jay Busiek will write the story.

The addition of Gooding to “Scream 7” creates an interesting shift in the ongoing narrative given the rest of the “core four” and the actors who portray them.

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

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

That leaves Jasmine Savoy Brown, who played Mindy Meeks-Martin, Chad’s twin sister and the final piece of the “core four.”

As of this writing, no official word has been released regarding Brown’s return.

However, online rumors insist that the actress told fans at the recent Comic Con Expo in São Paulo that she will not appear in “Scream 7.”

Chad’s presence in “Scream 7” is something of a miracle (film) considering the horrific nature in which he remained in “Scream 6”.

(Spoilers ahead for “Scream 6.”)

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

He was then captured by the killers and stabbed repeatedly. With what appears to be his last breath, Chad tells Tara, who is slightly ahead of him, to keep running. In the film’s final moments, a battered but alive Tara overhears the EMTs telling each other that they have found another survivor of the massacre.

The audience then sees Chad being taken out on a stretcher, unlike another victim of Ghostface in the multiple “Scream” films, former Woodsboro Sheriff Dewey Riley (David Arquette).

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

“I was kind of a bait-and-switch,” 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. And I wasn’t told that until we started shooting ‘Scream 5.'” That I will survive and get to the next stage.”

As expected, story details for “Scream 7” have been scarce. However, the inclusion of new co-star Isabella May in November gave weight to a rumor that the events of the new film may take place years after the “Scream 6” timeline.

As stated here on ExplosionMay is set to play the adult daughter of Sidney Prescott (Campbell), the original heroine of the franchise.

Sydney’s last film role in “Scream (2022)” saw her with young children and no other children were mentioned with her husband Mark Kincaid (Patrick Dempsey).

If Mai’s turn is to be believed, the potential events of “Scream 7” will apparently take place long after the events of “Scream 6.”

But none of these factors have been confirmed – except for the identity of May.

As of now, “Scream 7” is scheduled to premiere on February 27, 2026.

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