A Familiar Voice Is Heard in the New ‘Scream 7’ Trailer

I just saw the new poster for Scream 7, and it really hit me – there’s a big ’30’ on it with Ghostface! It’s because 2026 will be the 30th anniversary of the first Scream movie. It’s wild to think about! When the original came out in 1996, all those scary movie tropes it was making fun of were barely 20 years old. Now Scream is turning 30 itself! Honestly, that’s way more terrifying than anything in the movies.

Thirty years after the original, Neve Campbell is back as Sidney, still facing off against Ghostface. She’s joined by Courteney Cox and, surprisingly, Matthew Lillard, who returns to the Scream franchise for the first time since the very first film. It’s a mystery how Lillard’s character, Stu, is involved in Scream 7 – did he somehow survive the first movie and spend the last thirty years planning revenge? – but you can hear him in the latest trailer. We won’t have to wait much longer to find out, as the movie comes out at the end of the month.

Watch the Scream 7 trailer below:

Here’s the new poster for the film as well, which contains that deeply offensive Scream 30 logo.

Even though his part might be small, Matthew Lillard is listed prominently on the movie poster, before Joel McHale and Courtney Cox. This suggests he has more than just a quick appearance in the film.

Here is the film’s official synopsis:

Sidney Prescott, hoping for a peaceful life, finds her past catching up with her when a new Ghostface appears and targets her daughter. To keep her family safe, Sidney is forced to confront the terrifying events of her past and finally stop the cycle of violence.

Scream 7 is set to premiere in theaters on February 26.

Franchises That Changed Lead Characters Mid-Series

Home Alone

I’ve always loved Home Alone, and I think a big part of its appeal is just the wish fulfillment of a kid being left to their own devices! At first, the studio seemed to agree, bringing Macaulay Culkin back for Home Alone 2. But eventually, I guess they realized they didn’t need Kevin McCallister to make these movies work. It’s funny, because I think they just decided to make Home Alone movies with different kids after a while! There have been four of them so far—one in theaters, a couple made for TV, and the newest one streaming on Disney+. It’s wild to see how the franchise kept going even without Kevin!

Captain America

Marvel Studios is known for signing actors to long-term contracts, allowing them to maintain consistency across their many films. Chris Evans played Captain America (Steve Rogers) in eight movies, starting with Captain America: The First Avenger and concluding with Avengers: Endgame. After Rogers retired, he gave the Captain America shield to Sam Wilson (the Falcon), who then starred in his own film, Captain America: Brave New World, in 2025. However, that film wasn’t very well-received. Now, with Chris Evans set to return for Avengers: Doomsday, it’s uncertain whether he might reprise his role as Captain America again.

Ghostbusters

It took decades to make a third Ghostbusters movie. By the time it finally happened, Harold Ramis, one of the original stars, had passed away, and the remaining cast members were nearing retirement age. Director Ivan Reitman handed the reins of the series to his son, Jason, who directed and co-wrote Ghostbusters: Afterlife. This film introduced a new generation of characters – the daughter and grandchildren of the late Egon Spengler. While the original Ghostbusters did appear, it was mostly in short cameos in Ghostbusters: Afterlife and smaller roles in Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire.

The Fast and the Furious

When the first Fast and the Furious movie came out in 2001, no one imagined it would become a ten-film (and counting) franchise. It was a simple action movie about street racing and the friendship between an undercover cop (Paul Walker) and a suspect (Vin Diesel). But the film unexpectedly became a big hit, leading to a sequel, 2 Fast 2 Furious, which brought Walker back for another case. Diesel wasn’t involved at the time due to other commitments. 2 Fast 2 Furious actually made more money than the first film, but it also cost twice as much to produce, and Walker decided not to continue with the series.

Universal then tried to capitalize on the popularity of “drifting” in street racing by setting the next film in Japan and introducing a new lead character played by Lucas Black. They eventually convinced Diesel to make a cameo appearance, and after a positive reception, brought both Diesel and Walker back as central characters in Fast & Furious. Diesel has been a constant presence in the series ever since, and Walker remained a key part of the cast until his tragic death in 2013.

Jason Bourne

It’s tough to continue a movie series when the main character’s name is also the title! Matt Damon played Jason Bourne in three popular spy thrillers in the early 2000s, but then he felt the character needed a break. The studio, however, wanted to keep the franchise going. Their attempt, The Bourne Legacy, featured a new amnesiac spy who was very similar to Jason Bourne – same skills, similar look – but it wasn’t the same character. The movie didn’t do well, and the studio ultimately had to convince Matt Damon to return with Jason Bourne by offering him a significant amount of money.

Jurassic Park

As a huge cinema fan, it’s clear to me that the dinosaurs are the real stars of the Jurassic Park franchise – the studio clearly thinks so too! Think about it: across seven films, we’ve seen at least three completely different sets of human leads. It all started with Jeff Goldblum as Ian Malcolm in The Lost World, then Sam Neill returned as Alan Grant in Jurassic Park III. Fifteen years later, Jurassic World brought in Chris Pratt and Bryce Dallas Howard as the new heroes. They lasted for two films, with Goldblum, Neill, and Laura Dern making a welcome return in the last one. But then, everything shifted again with 2025’s Jurassic World Rebirth, starring Scarlett Johansson, Mahershala Ali, and Jonathan Bailey. The fact that Rebirth made nearly $870 million at the box office pretty much guarantees another sequel. It’ll be interesting to see which of these actors – if any – end up sharing the screen with those incredible raptors and triceratops next time around!

The Karate Kid

The Karate Kid franchise has evolved quite a bit over the years. With Ralph Macchio’s Daniel LaRusso stepping back, the series needed a new central character. The Next Karate Kid (1994) introduced Hilary Swank as Julie Pierce, a troubled teen trained by Mr. Miyagi. When that film wasn’t successful, Sony attempted a complete restart, followed by the popular Cobra Kai TV series. Most recently, in 2025’s Karate Kid: Legends, a third hero, played by Ben Wang, was added, receiving training from both Macchio’s Daniel and Jackie Chan’s Mr. Han.

Mad Max

This isn’t about franchises that simply replaced actors during a show’s run—ScreenCrush has already covered that topic. Instead, this focuses on how a change in lead actors can expand a franchise. Take Mad Max: when the series rebooted with Fury Road in 2015, Tom Hardy took over from Mel Gibson. But they also introduced Charlize Theron as the powerful Imperator Furiosa, a character who became so beloved that she got her own movie, Furiosa: A Mad Max Saga (2024), starring Anya Taylor-Joy as a younger version of the warrior.

Rocky

I’ve noticed a pattern in a lot of film franchises: a new hero usually means the old one gets phased out, at least at first (though sometimes, like with Jurassic Park, they do come back!). But the Rocky to Creed transition was really interesting. Instead of disappearing, Sylvester Stallone’s Rocky Balboa became a mentor figure to Adonis Creed, played by Michael B. Jordan. It cleverly mirrored the original Rocky films, where Rocky himself was guided by his trainer, Mickey. Stallone even appeared in Creed II, though he wasn’t in Creed III. Makes you wonder, could we see him step back into the ring for a potential Creed IV? I haven’t heard the final bell on that possibility yet.

Transformers

I’m not sure anyone really goes to a Transformers movie for the human characters, to be honest. We’re all there for Optimus Prime, Bumblebee, and even Starscream! That probably explains why the movies have gone through so many human leads. It started with Sam Witwicky, played by Shia LaBeouf, and his car that turned out to be a Transformer. We followed Sam for a few films, but then they switched things up and brought in Mark Wahlberg and a whole new group. After a couple of movies with Wahlberg, they went the prequel route with Hailee Steinfeld. And then Rise of the Beasts introduced even more new faces, like Anthony Ramos. Honestly, at this point, I’ve learned not to get attached to any of the human characters. They almost always disappear by the next movie!

2026-02-02 18:57