Mason Gooding is back for “Scream 7”, first new-era franchise star to return since Melissa Barrera's firing
Hello, Chad.
Mason Gooding is facing Ghostface once more.
Entertainment Weekly has confirmed that Gooding will return in Spyglass Media Group and Paramount Pictures' Scream 7, reprising his role as Chad Meeks-Martin from Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023). There's no word yet on if Yellowjackets star Jasmin Savoy Brown, who plays Chad’s sister, Mindy, will also be returning for the scary-good fun.
With the casting news, which Variety first reported, Gooding becomes the first star of the new era of the long-running horror films to sign on after the studio fired the rebooted franchise's lead star, Melissa Barrera, over sharing posts on social media about the Israel-Palestine conflict. (Barrera's firing was soon followed by the departure of Jenna Ortega, who played her sister in the two most recent slasher entries, reportedly due to scheduling conflicts.)
Paramount Pictures / Courtesy Everett Collection
Mason Gooding in 2022's 'Scream'Related: Scream VII director exits movie: 'It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare'
The genre-busting franchise originally generated four feature films including Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000) and Scream 4 (2011), directed by the late horror master Wes Craven and starring Neve Campbell as perennial final girl, Sidney Prescott. The franchise relaunched with the fifth installment, Scream, in 2022, which was followed by Scream VI and now Scream 7.
Campbell memorably opted out of starring in the New York City-set Scream VI over a pay dispute, but will reprise her original franchise role in Scream 7. In addition to Gooding and Campbell, new cast members include Isabel May (who is set to play Sidney's daughter), Celeste O’Connor, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace and Sam Rechner.
Related: Neve Campbell 'grateful' to return for Scream 7: 'I was sad to miss the last one'
Other stars debating answering the "do you like scary movies?" phone call include Courteney Cox, who is in talks to reprise her role of Gale Weathers, and Patrick Dempsey, who said "there has been a conversation" about him returning to play Mark Kincaid, who is Sidney's husband in the more recent timeline of the films. Neither casting is locked down or confirmed yet, however.
On the other side of the camera, Kevin Williamson, the screenwriter of the original Scream, Scream 2, and Scream 4, will now direct Scream 7, which is written by Guy Busick of 2022's Scream and Scream VI. Project X Entertainment's James Vanderbilt, William Sherak and Paul Neinstein (2022's Scream and Scream VI) are producing.
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Ahead of Scream 7, Gooding stars opposite Olivia Holt in the upcoming horror film Heart Eyes for Screen Gems and Spyglass, in theaters February 7, 2025. He can currently be seen in Kyle Mooney's disaster comedy Y2K.
Scream 7 is set for release on Feb. 27, 2026.
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