Let’s talk about those big reveals.

Scream 7 killer and ending explained: Unmasking the new Ghostface and the meta nostalgia play behind it

Let's talk about those big reveals.

By Nick Romano

Nick Romano is a senior editor at ** with 15 years of journalism experience covering entertainment. His work previously appeared in *Vanity Fair*, Vulture, IGN, and more.

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February 27, 2026 5:30 p.m. ET

Ghostface in 'Scream 7'. Credit:

Jessica Miglio/ Paramount Pictures

**This article contains spoilers from *Scream 7*.**

To quote Jasmin Savoy Brown's Mindy Meeks-Martin in *Scream 7*, "This time it's all about nostalgia."

Nostalgia for the franchise's early era is not only baked into the meta slasher-whodunnit, but it's also the chief weapon of the new Ghostface killers. There are three of these masked murderers this time around to torment Neve Campbell's Sidney Evans (formerly Prescott).

The ultimate Scream Queen has been attempting to live a quiet life in the new suburban setting of Pine Grove, Ind., with her husband, local police chief Mark (Joel McHale), and three daughters, of whom Tatum (Isabel May) is the eldest. There are so many nods to the first Sidney-centric movies in the story and its self-aware dialogue, including the prominent plot point that Tatum, named after Rose McGowan's *Scream* character Tatum Riley, is now the same age Sidney was during the Woodsboro Massacre.

Continuing with the meta commentary, the killers themselves are the embodiment of that nostalgia play that's so prominent in Hollywood these days.

Who are the Scream 7 killers?

Neve Campbell as Sidney Evans in 'Scream 7'.

Jessica Miglio/Paramount Pictures

In an ensemble scene where Mindy explains it all, the character posits that whoever the killer is, they are obsessed with the Sidney from 30 years ago. (This year of 2026 does indeed mark the 30th anniversary of the OG *Scream*.) That someone is Jessica (Anna Camp), mother of Tatum's classmate Lucas (Asa Germann) and the seemingly warm next-door neighbor of the Evans family.

Jess likes to think *she's* the true mastermind of this latest Ghostface killing spree, but it's supposedly up to whichever rambling psychopath you listen to. She was previously in an abusive marriage when she went insane and used Sidney's survivor story as inspiration to kill her husband. Jess read all about Sidney's story in *Out of Darkness*, the memoir published in the fourth movie.

After getting away with her husband's death, Jess became consumed with the image of *the* Sidney Prescott, but she "couldn't f---ing handle it" when Sid disappeared from the public limelight.

Anna Camp as Jessica in 'Scream 7'.

Jessica Miglio/Paramount Pictures

The obvious parallel is that Campbell herself did not appear in *Scream VI* (2023) over a pay dispute with production company Spyglass and studio Paramount. "When I made that decision, I just didn't think I could live with myself walking on set," the actress commented on the matter in a recent *CBS Mornings* interview. "It just didn't feel right. I just knew that my value to this franchise was bigger than what had been offered."

After the massive creative overhaul with *Scream 7*, the powers that be brought in Kevin Williamson, the original screenwriter on the early movies, to write and direct the sequel. He reoriented the story around Sidney and included Campbell, an executive producer, in the creative process.

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Jess can be seen as a fictionalized representation of all those *Scream* fans who were upset when Sidney did not return for that sixth movie. "A Ghostface attack doesn't count if you're not there," she shouts at Sid during her ending monologue.

The meta commentary continues when the character shares that she tracked Sidney down to Pine Grove to be close to her, but was heartbroken upon realizing she didn't live up to the warrior image she'd had in her head all these years. Jess went even more haywire and booked a stay at the Fallbrook psych hospital nearby, where she synced up with Marco (Ethan Embry), a supervisor at the facility and the second chief Ghostface of *Scream 7*.

Ethan Embry in 'Scream 7'.

Jessica Miglio/Paramount Pictures

Embry could also arguably be seen as a living, nostalgic Easter egg. The actor once auditioned for a role in the original *Scream*, either for Jamie Kennedy's Randy Meeks or Matthew Lillard's Stu Macher. "I remember not getting good feedback from Mr. Craven," Embry recalled to horror site Bloody Disgusting of the late filmmaker Wes Craven.

Marco and Jess wrangled the third Ghostface, another patient at Fallbrook, and a triple murderer named Karl Alan Gibbs (Kraig Drake). Karl was the first to die when he got run over by Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) in her car. His room at the hospital featured a framed photo of Tori Spelling, who, in the world of *Scream,* plays a fictionalized version of herself as the actress portraying Sidney Prescott in the *Stab* movies, which are based on the Woodsboro Massacre.

The main killers crafted a scheme that Jess hoped would turn Tatum into "Sidney Prescott 2.0" by killing her mother in front of her, thereby recreating the trauma that once turned Sidney into the ultimate Final Girl of Jess' dreams.

Nostalgic Easter eggs

Matthew Lillard, David Arquette, and Scott Foley from past 'Scream' movies.

David M. Moir/Dimension Films; PARAMOUNT PICTURES; Rico Torres/Dimension Films via Getty

The killers' chief tactic, again, plays into the nostalgia factor. They used AI deepfakes to taunt Sidney with the faces of the deceased, mostly old Ghostface killers.

The special guests play as a who's who of Campbell's greatest cinematic hits: Lillard returns as Stu, one of the Ghostfaces in the first *Scream*; Laurie Metcalf returns as the mother of Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and the *Scream 2* killer; Scott Foley makes a comeback as Roman Bridger, Sidney's secret stepbrother and the Ghostface of *Scream 3*; and David Arquette is back as Dewey, Sidney's close friend and mainstay of the franchise who died during the events of the fifth *Scream*.

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From the kickoff, *Scream 7* was setting up nostalgia as the key play to Williamson's vision. The opening "Drew moment" is staged at the Macher house, now outfitted as an Airbnb. Similar to the first movie, the sequence cuts to Tatum on her bed, mirroring a scene from *Scream* in which Sidney's boyfriend sneaks into her bedroom through the window.

Tatum also unearths her mother's jacket, the same one the character wore in *Scream 2*, and acts in the high school musical. Sidney acted in the college setting of that second film.**

Is it all overkill? Ghostface certainly hopes so.

Original Article on Source

Source: “EW Slasher”