Sidney Prescott, Gale Weathers, and Dewey Riley. These are the only surviving characters from the original Scream films. While there are a couple of other characters that may have survived a Scream 3 or a Scream 4 (maybe Detective Mark Kincaid?), the three named above are the ones that have been in it from the beginning. This trio has been haunted by Ghostface for nearly three decades now, and characters usually don't make it that long in horror franchises. This begs the question: who will survive and what will be left of the three original Scream characters?
Several trailers have already been released that feature Neve Campbell, Courtney Cox, and David Arquette, so it's known that they are all returning. By combining context clues from the trailers and considering how the franchise has gone so far, it's not hard to see who might not make it out of this one. Scream (2022) is being promised as a bold and scary reinvention of what's come before, and it stands to reason that one or more of the three iconic characters from Wes Craven's beautiful creation won't be getting a call to join in on the potential sequels.
Dewey Riley... Will Die
Dewey is the comic relief of the Scream franchise. Ever since '96, he's been a goofy, but sincere man of the law that can't make it through a movie without being brutalized one way or another. One might think that his resistance to death points toward him surviving the newest entry in the series, but that's not likely.
The trailer for Scream finds a down-and-out Dewey living in a dingy trailer, seeking out the new Ghostface, and... walking down a dark hall with the killer close behind him. While the first trailer wisely doesn't give away much, it is certainly teasing the death of this fan-favorite character. Seeing as he's alone in this hospital and footage is shown of him violently confronting the new killer, things aren't looking too good for stalwart officer.
Both an authority figure and a relatable character for audiences to latch on to, the character of Dewey would be a great choice to kill off because of the gut-wrenching effect it would have on longtime fans. Arquette's star hasn't risen since the height of his popularity in the late 90's, so the bankability of this star rests solely on his Scream credits. It would be a major turning point in the franchise and a signifier that things will never be the same if Deputy Dewey were sliced and diced. Ranked in terms of potential death, Dewey comes in at the top spot.
Gale Weathers... Will Die
Gale must die. Like Dewey, she usually doesn't leave one of these movies without being at least injured. Add in the point that she and Dewey used to be married (both in the film series and in real life), it would be fitfully poetic that after Dewey bites the big one, so does she. The first trailer shows a mournful Gale yelling at a crime scene, and the structure of the trailer seems to suggest that this happens mid-film.
If Gale is distraught at Dewey's death at the end of act two, it stands to reason that Gale will act out and try to get revenge on the killer in act three, thus sealing her fate. Gale and Dewey's stories have always revolved around one another in this film series, so it would be a fitting end for the characters if they each went out in the same film.
Courtney Cox has been largely absent from both the big and small screen as of late. As one of the most popular screen stars of the late '90s and early 2000s and considering the ever-escalating popularity of Friends, Cox's appearance in the newest Scream is hotly anticipated. While it would bolster her career to be a major part of a rebooted slasher franchise, she just as easily could be tired of playing the role of troubled journalist Gale Weathers. By using her recent moment in the spotlight courtesy of the recent Friends reunion, Courtney Cox's death combined with the death of David Arquette's Dewey could be the one-two punch that sends this Scream from amusing to shocking.
Sidney Prescott... Will Live
Sidney Prescott is a character that deserves a happy ending. Her mother was murdered when she was in high school, and since then she's had to endure five different murder sprees. All of her friends (except for two), family members, and acquaintances have had their lives stripped from them in gruesome ways. A fifth film would arguably not have worked if Neve Campbell had decided not to return.
After confirmation of her signing on, Scream fans immediately began to speculate on where Prescott has been in the 11-year interim since Scream 4. Regardless, Sidney has lived a life of turmoil. The new Scream might just let her finally walk off into the sunset and allow a new character to fill her space for the inevitable sequels.
Of course, the easiest way to start a new series of Scream films with all new characters would be to kill off the entirety of the original cast and start anew with the holdover characters from Scream 5 into Scream 6. This might be the tactic that Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, the duo behind the superb Ready or Not and the hand-picked directors of the new Scream, are using to create a bankable continuation of the classic series. Considering the rabid fanbase the Scream series has, it's not likely that all of the original three are gutted.
If only one of the legacy cast members survives, it will most likely be Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott. This information combined with the fact that she's one of the most capable horror film heroines in film history could mean that she lives to fight another day at the end of Scream (2022).
