Scream 7 may no longer feature the Carpenter sisters, but Patrick Dempsey hinted he could return as Mark Kincaid from Scream 3. Dempsey first joined the horror series in 2000, playing a Hollywood detective investigating the murders of the Stab 3 cast.
While his character survived Scream 3, he hasn’t appeared in the later sequels, even though his character later marries Sidney Prescott and becomes the father of her three kids.
In a recent Today show interview, Dempsey shared that he’s been asked to return for Scream 7 but hasn’t yet seen a finished script. He also mentioned the funny twist of playing Neve Campbell’s husband, especially since she played his sister on Grey’s Anatomy. When asked if he’d take the role, Dempsey playfully said,
Advertisement I’m still waiting to see the script, We’ve talked about it, but I haven’t received anything yet. Funny enough, Neve and I actually worked together before—she played my sister on Grey’s Anatomy. That was almost 26–27 years ago, back in ’99.
Dempsey said
It’s always good to have a job.
He added with a grin,
You can watch his comments and the original clip below:
Scream 7 was originally set to continue the story of Melissa Barrera’s and Jenna Ortega’s characters, the Carpenter sisters. However, the team had to make quick changes after Barrera was fired due to social media posts about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Shortly after, Ortega said she couldn’t return because of scheduling issues. Director Christopher Landon also decided to leave, calling it a situation in which his “dream job turned into a nightmare.”
With a complete creative change, the new plan for Scream 7 now focuses on bringing back Neve Campbell as the original final girl of the franchise. There are also rumors that Patrick Dempsey might return, highlighting the important role of Sidney’s family. While the previous movies mentioned Sidney and Mark’s relationship and their kids, it seems the plan is to put them front and center this time.
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Some people might think that bringing back Campbell and Dempsey is just about their nostalgic appeal, but the producers of Scream 7 could be secretly planning to introduce their characters’ children as the new main leads. Since the franchise lost both Barrera and Ortega, it will need to pass the torch to a new generation if it wants to continue beyond Scream 7.
Few horror franchises have successfully passed the lead roles to a younger generation, but the 2022 film Scream did a great job of presenting Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega as possible replacements for Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette. However, even though Scream managed to do this once, Scream 7 will need to prove again that new characters can carry the franchise forward without Sidney’s presence.
While Campbell and Dempsey might return for Scream 7, everyone will be watching closely to see who plays their children as the likely new stars. It remains to be seen if these new characters can gain the same popularity and acceptance that the Carpenter sisters had, but Dempsey’s return could create a stronger connection between the franchise’s past and its future.
Source: Today