Ghostface Actor Shares Why Being Cast as the Killer Felt Like a Compliment
SPOILERS: This post contains details about Scream 7, including the killers’ identities
Neve Campbell returns to the screen as Sidney Prescott in the latest installment of the beloved slasher series, Scream 7. This time, the ‘final girl’ faces off against a new incarnation of Ghostface.
In this seventh edition, directed by Kevin Williamson, who launched the franchise in 1996 alongside Wes Craven, Sidney attempts to lead a quiet life in a small town, away from the haunting memories of Woodsboro.
Sidney, now married to police officer Mark Evans (Joel McHale) and raising her teenage daughter Tatum (Isabel May), soon finds herself targeted by a masked assailant. The killer ominously claims to be Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard), one of the original Ghostfaces believed to be dead.
The film’s climax reveals that the killers utilized AI deepfakes to torment Sidney while orchestrating the murders of her daughter’s friends.
Watch on Deadline
The true architect behind this latest series of Ghostface attacks is revealed to be Jessica Bowden (Anna Camp), Sidney’s neighbor and close friend. Jessica’s obsession with Sidney was ignited after reading Sidney’s book, Out of Darkness, which inspired her to take drastic action against her abusive husband.
Feeling abandoned when Sidney was absent during the New York killings in Scream VI (2023)—a role Campbell missed due to a pay dispute—Jessica checked herself into a mental health facility. There, she devised her plot with hospital employee Marco (Ethan Embry) and fellow patient Karl (Kraig Dane).
“A lot of people are saying that,” Campbell remarked regarding her character’s enduring significance. “I can’t obviously say anything, but I will take that kind as a compliment, because that role is definitely for somebody who has to be able to bring the whole movie home. So, I take that as a compliment.”
Anna Camp as Jessica Bowden in ‘Scream 7’ (2026) (Jessica Miglio/Paramount Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection)
Now playing in theaters, Scream 7 features a star-studded cast, including Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Scott Foley, Matthew Lillard, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, and newcomers Joel McHale, Isabel May, Celeste O’Connor, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace, Sam Rechner, Michelle Randolph, Jimmy Tatro, Anna Camp, Mark Consuelos, and Ethan Embry.
