One of the reasons the Scream franchise continues to be a success is down to its meta commentary via the 'film within a film' Stab movies, but with each sequel, the presence of the fictional franchise has become tired and boring. If Scream 7 is to be a massive success like its predecessors, it needs to completely move away from the Stab movies as a basis for the upcoming sequel's horror movie commentary.

Neve Campbell is back and is currently the only confirmed cast member for Scream 7, with Courteney Cox and Patrick Dempsey rumored to return to the franchise as well. The sequel will be directed by the original creator, Kevin Williamson and filming is set to begin sometime in 2024, with a potential release in 2025.

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Should Scream 7 Return To Woodsboro?

Woodsboro was the sleepy town in Scream where the murders took place, and there's a possibility Scream 7 could return to the scene of the first crimes

What are the Stab movies?

The events in Woodsboro, California that saw Sidney Prescott and her friends stalked by a pair of Ghostface killers in the original Scream, became the book known as The Woodsboro Murders, by Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and during the events of Scream 2, this book has been adapted into Scream's meta horror, Stab. Scream 2 opens at the premiere of Stab, as Windsor College students, Maureen Evans (Jada Pinkett) and Phil Stevens (Omar Epps) end up getting killed by the latest Ghostface killer while watching Casey Becker (played by Heather Graham) getting murdered on the big screen.

Stab became a major part of the events of Scream 2, with the release of the movie considered to be a huge factor in inspiring these copycat Ghostface killings, and providing some key meta commentary on horror movies, and sequels in particular.

The fictional cast of Stab: (as featured in Scream 2)

• Tori Spelling as Sidney Prescott
• Luke WIlson as Billy Loomis
• David Schwimmer as Dewey Riley
• Heather Graham as Casey Becker

Except for David Schwimmer, who was only mentioned as the actor who played Dewey Riley in Stab, the other fictional cast members of the movie actually made appearances in Scream 2, playing themselves playing the characters in Stab. It was a confusing yet entertaining aspect of the first sequel, and provides a lot of comedic moments as the 'real life' characters watch footage of the movie made about their lives. Stab was directed by Robert Rodriguez, but the actual footage from the movie within the movie was directed by Wes Craven, but Rodriguez gave his permission for his name to be used.

The events of Scream 3 take place during the filming of Stab 3: Return To Woodsboro, with fictional characters now playing the characters in the Scream universe. The latest Ghostface killer is picking the cast off one by one in the order they get killed off in the movie. First up, it's Cotton Weary, who has filmed a cameo in Stab 3, and ends up on Ghostface's kill list after he refuses to give up Sidney Prescott's whereabouts.

The cast of Stab 3: Return To Woodsboro: (as featured in Scream 3)

• Angelina Tyler (played by Emily Mortimer) as Sidney Prescott
• Jennifer Jolie (played by Parker Posey) as Gale Weathers
• Tom Prinze (played by Matt Keesler) as Dewey Riley
• Tyson Fox (played by Deon Richmond) as Ricky Wafford
• Sarah Darling (played by Jenny McCarthy) as Candy Brooks

Scream 4's plot points saw the Stab movies still front and center of the narrative, as the commentary focused on remakes. The opening sequence of Scream 4 sees Sherrie (Lucy Hale) and Trudie (Shenae Grimes) being terrorized by a potential stalker before the two Ghostface killers murder them both.

In a twist, it is revealed that this was actually footage from Stab 6, as the title card pops up, and this transitions into two friends called Rachel (Anna Paquin) and Chloe (Kristen Bell) watching Stab 6, and moaning about the predictability of sequels. Chloe then stabs Rachel with a huge knife into her gut, and this is then revealed to be Stab 7, which is being watched by the real opening kills of Scream 4, Jenny Randall (Aimee Teegarden) and Marnie Cooper (Britt Robertson) who are in Woodsboro, and contemplating the real life consequences of the Stab movies, before they are ironically murdered by Ghostface.

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Scream 7 needs to move its focus away from the Stab movies

Scream (2022) once again mentioned the Stab movies in its narrative, but it was used effectively as it played into Ritchie and Amber's motive for wanting to make a new Stab movie, after Ritchie's hatred for Stab 8. This latest Stab movie plays into the commentary on toxic fandom and requels in Scream (2022) and it works. There is even a brief clip of Stab 8, which features a flame throwing Chrome Ghostface, voiced by Stu Macher actor, Matthew Lillard.

Scream 6 didn't delve into the Stab movies much at all, and was stronger for it. There were a couple of off the cuff mentions of the Stab franchise, but nothing too heavy. If Scream 7 is to be a success, it should move away from the Stab movies entirely, in order to recapture the magic of the original Scream, which wasn't bogged down by the fictional horror franchise that would come to fruition in the sequels.

It would be a good idea for Scream 7 to focus instead on the effects of the trauma faced by Sidney Prescott, and the personal journey she has gone through to heal, before ripping off the band-aid, and forcing her to confront her past with the re-emergence of Ghostface. If Gale Weathers returns in Scream 7, it would also be interesting to focus on her true-crime books that led to the creation of the Stab franchise, rather than the Stab movies themselves. Stab is an integral part of the Scream franchise, but there isn't much more to say about them moving forward, and they are holding the story back from going in new and interesting directions.

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