Predicting The Rotten Tomatoes Scores Of 2026's Biggest Movies

The Scream franchise rocks the most impressively sturdy critical batting average of any major slasher IP, with its only Rotten entry to date being the divisive Scream 3 (45%).

But Scream faces quite the challenge with its impending seventh entry, given the unexpected departure of new leads Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, leaving the production scrambling to lure original star Neve Campbell back with a fat paycheck.

There are so many question marks surrounding Scream 7 - having to toss out the original story plan and concoct something new within a matter of months is far from ideal for any production.

Beyond that, franchise creator Kevin Williamson will be stepping into the director's chair for the first time in the series, and it's worth noting that his only other directorial effort - 1999's Teaching Mrs. Tingle - was widely panned.

Then there's the decision to bring back legacy actors such as Matthew Lillard, David Arquette, and Scott Foley for what many are assuming will be an AI-centric storyline, which for all its relevance, could easily end up falling flat.

And finally, the first trailer just doesn't seem terribly inspired - having the new Ghostface target Sidney's (Campbell) daughter Tatum (Isabel May) seems to be an incredibly generic, ho-hum direction for the series to go.

While it's unlikely that Scream 7 scores the series' worst reviews, expect it to be one of the more divisive entries to date and a step down from the last two.