The Scream franchise ed the trend of reboots and legacy sequels in 2022 with its fifth movie, simply titled Scream. The sequel brought back the main survivors of the first four movies – Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), and Dewey Riley (David Arquette) – and introduced a new generation of characters, led by sisters Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega).

Sam and Tara became the new Final Girls of the Scream franchise, and, along with their friends Chad (Mason Gooding) and Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown), the nephew and niece of the late Randy Meeks, were the only survivors. With Barrera and Ortega leaving Scream 7, the film’s story had to be reworked and it will now focus on Sidney and her family. For this, Scream 7 will have a time jump and a new cast, but it’s now officially bringing one of Tara’s friends back, and even though it’s exciting, it’s giving Scream 7 a huge challenge.

Chad’s Return In Scream 7 Is A Challenge After Its Confirmed Time Jump

Scream 7 Has To Find A Way To Bring Chad Back Without Sam & Tara

The most recent Mason Gooding is reprising his role as Chad in Scream 7, making him the first character from the remaining Core Fore to return. However, while Chad’s return is great for keeping some connection and continuity with the previous two movies, it’s now a big challenge due to Scream 7’s time jump.

As mentioned above, Scream 7 will focus on Sidney’s family, but Scream 2022 showed that her youngest child was still a baby or a toddler, and Scream 6 took place just one year later. Ghostface targeting children wouldn’t do any good to the franchise, so for the new killer to be able to target Sidney’s family, a time jump is necessary. Now, while it makes sense, the time jump makes it harder to include the reboot’s new characters without Sam and Tara’s presence, more so as they don’t have a proper connection to Sidney.

Surely, Chad is the nephew of Sidney’s late best friend, but they didn’t have any interaction in Scream 2022. Chad’s involvement in Scream 7 risks feeling forced without Sam and Tara and with a time jump involved, so the story has to be clever in how it brings Chad into it and makes him an active part of it.

Chad’s Return Will Work Best With Another Scream Reboot Actor's Return

Scream 7 Needs The Reboot’s Twins Back

Chad’s return in Scream 7 could make more sense and be a lot smoother if Mindy also returns. The twins went through very traumatic experiences in the previous movies and almost died on both occasions, and depending on what happened to Sam and Tara, they could have very strong reasons to go after the new Ghostface. At the time of writing, Jasmin Savoy Brown hasn’t been confirmed to return nor has it been mentioned if she’s in talks to play Mindy again.

Chad’s return without Mindy would raise even more questions, as it’s not just what happened to Sam and Tara but now also Mindy.

Mindy also took Randy’s role as the horror expert and deliverer of “the rules” in Scream 2022 and Scream 6, so it’s only fair that she will have that same role in Scream 7. Chad’s return without Mindy would raise even more questions, as it’s not just what happened to Sam and Tara but now also Mindy, as they were very close and shared the same friends. Scream 7 has some big challenges ahead, but luckily, it will overcome all of them and give a satisfying ending to the trilogy and the saga.

Source: Variety.