Scream 7 is still a year away from theaters, but as the final bits of information fall into place for the start of a promotional campaign down the line, there’s one awesome gimmick from the previous release that fans definitely won’t be seeing in the leadup to the new film.

Scream 7 has had to pivot hard several times in its production process, dealing with casting changes, creative substitutions, and at least one total overhaul in reaction to all the issues facing the project. However, the film has impressively managed to get through all that noise and begin principal photography ahead of a 2026 release. While it was set to go in a whole new direction, the franchise is now doubling down on what made fans love it to begin with, and it seems to be going great. A lot of positive press has come out concerning the film, including the unprecedented news that Matthew Lillard is returning to his iconic role from the franchise’s heyday and much more.

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It’s been posited that Scream 7 could ignore the events of the previous film, but it’ll definitely be ignoring one of that film’s more innovative marketing tactics. As highlighted by Popverse in a retrospective on the previous entry’s iconic marketing stunt, the upcoming film won’t be engaging in the viral marketing stunt that made the leadup to Scream 6 so infamous. In a well-meaning bit of promotional fun, the marketing team for the last Scream entry had three people dress up as Ghostface and hang out in select crowded metropolitan areas, staring at random strangers while the world remained in motion around them. This was a pretty cool stunt and served as effective marketing for the film, sure. But it also absolutely terrified some people, leading to a lot of scared pedestrians, bewildered headlines, and even calls to 911. That last bit, unfortunately, is the reason why fans shouldn’t expect to see Ghostface in their city anytime soon. Well, at least not a fake one hired by the Scream 7 marketing machine, anyway.

The next installment in the Scream franchise has a lot going for it, and a good bit of that has to do with what the last film did for the franchise. While no movie is perfect, the sixth film did bring a lot of new eyes to the franchise, in no small part thanks to the star power and viral marketing that made it a must-see for core horror fans and appealing to casuals. Scream 7 could really go places that Scream 6 didn’t, as long as those places are on the other side of the screen this time. The film arguably doesn’t even need that sort of buzz, considering the sheer number of high-profile returns and plot speculation swirling around in online conversation concerning the film.

With the film still less than a month into filming following delays at the tail end of 2024, there’s still ample time for Scream 7 to properly define itself and carry on the best parts of the franchise. With a plethora of stars returning and few competitors with the sort of status the Scream franchise has currently set for early 2026 release, this project could go a long way in taking the horror franchise even further with fans of the genre and setting the stage for new stars to move things forward down the line.

Scream 7 is currently set for theatrical release on 27 February, 2026.

Scream 7

Mystery

Horror

Thriller

Release Date

February 27, 2026

Director

Kevin Williamson