Scream VII sure is casting a lot of dead guys

[This article contains spoilers for several Scream movies.]

What the hell is going on with the casting for Scream VII? This is a series that has always enjoyed dragging back old cast members for another spin on the slasher merry-go-round, but at least it's usually confined itself to ones whose characters are still living. (With the notable exception of Skeet Ulrich popping up as a ghost/hallucination in Scream and Scream VI.) Now, casting news has arrived today suggesting that both Scream's Matthew Lillard and Scream III's Scott Foley will be back for the troubled sequel.

Fans of the franchise will notice a certain trend in these castings, of course: Both actors played at least one of the killers in their respective films, having each donned the Ghostface mask at one point or another in order to carve up their friends or co-workers. Which raises a question: How many other former killers will be popping up in this movie, which is being directed by franchise scribe Kevin Williamson? Are Laurie Metcalf and Timothy Olyphant getting a call right now? Will we be getting appearances from Emma Roberts or Rory Culkin? Is this a Ghostface convention in the making?

These nostalgic gestures also can't help but feel like an attempt at a distraction: Scream VII had its early production badly marred by the high-profile departure of stars Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, as well as directing team Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett (a.k.a. Radio Silence), with Barrera being overtly fired over statements supporting Palestine, and Ortega allegedly getting dropped as part of some sort of pay dispute. Given that those two stars, and Radio Silence, were the ones responsible for getting the franchise back off the ground after the 11 year gap between Scream IV and 2022's Scream, it's hard not to think about what their sudden removal from the project means for the franchise's future. (Apparently, it means lots of dead killers coming back to life to spar against Neve Campbell's Sydney Prescott all over again.)