Patrick Dempsey's Scream 7 Return Following Surprise New Casting Gets Definitive Update

Patrick Dempsey's potential Scream 7 return has been clarified after a surprise casting announcement. In the slasher franchise's 2022 legacy sequel, it was revealed that longtime final girl Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is married to a man named Mark, which seemed to imply that she had married Dempsey's Scream 3 character, detective Mark Kincaid. However, it was recently revealed that the upcoming Scream 7, which is currently filming under the auspices of director Kevin Williamson, had cast Community star Joel McHale in the role of Mark instead, and that the character's last name is Evans.

Entertainment Weekly has followed up on this surprising casting announcement. After reaching out to representatives for both the production company Spyglass and Patrick Dempsey, they learned that the actor will not be appearing in the movie whatsoever. Although Dempsey had teased during an appearance on Today in October 2024 that he had been approached to reprise his Scream 3 role, negotiations fell through after that point.

What This Means For Scream 7

Not Every Surviving Legacy Character Will Return

Patrick Dempsey as Mark Kincaid leaning over Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott in Scream 3

Ultimately, it seems highly likely that Sidney's husband Mark was meant to be played by Patrick Dempsey before negotiations fell through. The 2022 legacy sequel Scream planted the seeds for several future legacy characters to return, one of which came to fruition. After including an Easter egg that implied that Hayden Panettiere's Scream 4 character Kirby Reed had survived her stab wound, the actor eventually reprised the role in 2023's Scream VI.

Kirby was presumed dead after being stabbed in the stomach by Ghostface, twice, in Scream 4.

However, the Scream cast is generally moving in a different direction in the upcoming movie, which will feature neither of the Carpenter sisters, who were played by Melissa Barrera (who was controversially fired after sharing pro-Palestine posts on social media) and Jenna Ortega. Although legacy characters including Sidney, Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), and Chad (Mason Gooding) and Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown) will be returning, they are surrounded by a new ensemble. Even Kirby has not been confirmed to return, despite surviving the events of the 2023 sequel.

Our Take On The Scream 7 Update

Patrick Dempsey Is Making Up For His Absence

Patrick Dempsey as Mark Kincaid alongside an image of Ghostface wielding a bloody knife

Although Dempsey will not be returning as Mark Kincaid in Scream 7, the star has made up for this absence with his recent triumphant return to the horror genre. 23 years after Scream 3, he played a major role in the cast of Eli Roth's 2023 holiday slasher Thanksgiving that he may reprise in the upcoming 2025 sequel. He directly followed that performance by taking on a main role in the Dexter: Original Sin cast, fleshing out the world of the serial killer thriller prequel as Miami Metro captain Aaron Spencer, a character who is somewhat similar to Kincaid.

Source: EW