One scream could unmask a killer—or awaken a nightmare. 🔪

Jenna Ortega’s Sidney battles ghosts from Woodsboro’s past as Timothée Chalamet’s shadowy stranger cuts into her blood-soaked saga. Ghostface’s blade gleams sharper in a trailer dripping with dread and deadly twists. Is this Scream 7’s final stab at glory… or a slash too far? Answer the call—watch the trailer before the line goes dead. 👉

Paramount Pictures has sharpened the blade of its horror crown jewel with the chilling first trailer for Scream 7, a blood-soaked revival that thrusts Jenna Ortega’s battle-scarred Sidney Prescott back into Woodsboro’s haunted heart, joined by Timothée Chalamet’s enigmatic drifter with ties to the franchise’s earliest kills. Unveiled during a midnight Paramount+ livestream that blended Wes Craven’s slasher DNA with Radio Silence’s modern snark, the two-minute teaser surged to 50 million views in 24 hours, showcasing a Ghostface spree fueled by social media voyeurism, AI-enhanced kills, and a meta-mystery that could unravel the saga’s 30-year mythos. Powered by Unreal Engine 5’s claustrophobic sheen—blood-slicked halls, flickering livestreams, and procedural fog—the footage teases a 2026 theatrical return, blending Ortega’s scream-queen grit with Chalamet’s mercurial menace. Yet, as Paramount pumps $150 million into a franchise that’s grossed $913 million since 1996, shadows loom: Can Scream 7 restore the series’ edge after 2023’s divisive Scream VI, or will it bleed out under the weight of fan expectations and studio shakeups?

For those dodging Ghostface’s calls, Scream slashed onto screens in 1996, reinventing horror with Craven’s self-aware whodunit, where Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell in the original tetralogy) outran masked killers wielding pop-culture quips and kitchen knives. The series, a meta-mirror to slasher tropes, minted $608 million across four films, peaking with Scream 3‘s 89 Metacritic score. Rebooted in 2022 by Radio Silence (Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett), Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023) passed the torch to a new crew—Ortega’s Tara Carpenter, Melissa Barrera’s Sam, and Mason Gooding’s Chad—grossing $305 million but faltering at 76 Metacritic for VI‘s New York pivot, criticized for sidelining Campbell amid pay disputes and leaning too hard on legacy nods. Ortega, fresh off Wednesday‘s 1.7 billion-hour Netflix reign, emerged as the franchise’s new face, her Tara blending vulnerability with final-girl ferocity. Scream 7‘s announcement in August 2023, post-WGA strike, sparked buzz when Campbell’s return as Sidney was confirmed alongside Chalamet’s casting—a coup after his Dune: Part Two ($711 million) and Wonka ($632 million) dominance.

Whispers of Scream 7 crystallized in 2024. Leaks from r/Scream (verified by Deadline in June 2025) pegged a Woodsboro homecoming, with Sidney mentoring Tara against a Ghostface cult livestreaming kills via a dark-web app, “SlaughterStream.” Development, greenlit under new director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day), ballooned to 150 crew post-Freaky‘s cult success, with a $150 million budget dwarfing VI‘s $35 million. Filming kicks off January 2026 in Vancouver, eyeing a July 3, 2026, premiere to ride Mission: Impossible 8‘s summer wake. Insiders cite Landon’s vision: “Wes’ heart with TikTok’s pulse,” blending practical gore—Ghostface’s blade carving through vinyl records—with digital dread, like hacked Ring cams exposing victims. Chalamet’s role, teased as Ezra Kane, a drifter tied to Stu Macher’s 1996 rampage, drew gasps when Variety (September 2025) confirmed his casting over Zac Efron, leveraging his Bones and All cannibal chill.

The trailer is a masterclass in dread-soaked meta. Opening on Ortega’s Tara sprinting through Woodsboro’s fog-choked streets, her phone buzzing with a livestreamed Ghostface taunt—“Wanna go viral?”—it cuts to Chalamet’s Ezra, eyes glinting as he unlocks a blood-smeared archive of VHS kills. Montages erupt: Sidney (Campbell) wielding a shotgun in a derelict Prescott house, Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) dodging drones in a newsroom ambush, and a Ghostface duo syncing stabs to a Twitch-style counter ticking “K/D ratio.” UE5 dazzles—Lumen lighting casts knife shadows on sweat-slicked faces, Chaos physics shatters windows mid-chase, and procedural blood pools mirror livestream overlays. Audio bites: John Carpenter’s synths remix the iconic Scream sting, layered with Chalamet’s whispered “Every cut’s a classic.” Teases abound: A mid-trailer glimpse of Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere) decoding Ezra’s cryptic tattoos, and a post-credits sting of a second Ghostface unmasking to a scream cut-off.

Narrative hooks are razor-sharp. Set two years post-VI, the plot follows Sidney’s return to Woodsboro to bury Tara’s sister Sam (Barrera, recast after 2023 firing), only to face a tech-savvy Ghostface cult using AI to mimic past killers—Billy, Stu, even Roman—via deepfake taunts. Ezra, per leaks, is a red herring: His Macher lineage (Stu’s nephew?) teases betrayal, but his psychic link to Tara’s nightmares hints at a survivor’s gambit. Ensemble locks: Gooding’s Chad as a jock-turned-sheriff, Jasmin Savoy Brown’s Mindy decoding “SlaughterStream” algorithms, and newcomers like Yahya Abdul-Mateen II as a rogue hacker and Cailee Spaeny as a vlogger bait. Landon’s pivot—practical knives, minimal CGI—nods to Craven’s roots, while social commentary skewers TikTok true-crime obsession. R-rated gore returns: Throats slit mid-stream, guts spilling in 4K clarity, dodging VI‘s “tame” gripes.

Technically, it’s a slasher’s dream. ILM’s VFX, post-Mufasa, crafts real-time blood sprays with haptic PS5 tie-ins for knife feedback, while MetaHuman refines Chalamet’s haunted micro-expressions. Theatrical 4K IMAX targets summer crowds, with Paramount+ streams 45 days post-release. Accessibility shines: Color-blind knife glints, simplified chase inputs, and audio-described taunts for the visually impaired. Co-op whispers: A Scream: Slashpoint game, blending Dead by Daylight chases with survivor perks, drops 2027. Release? Firmly July 3, 2026, priced at $15 digital, with a $200 Collector’s Edition packing Ghostface’s knife replica and Ortega-signed scripts.

Fan fever? A bloodbath. Reddit’s r/Scream (600k subs) threads like “Scream 7: Chalamet’s Cut or Bust?” hit 40k upvotes—OG fans cheer Sidney’s return but eye Chalamet’s “indie vibe” warily, fearing Star Wars‘ Kylo redux. X’s #Scream7Trailer exploded with 3 million posts, memes of Ortega’s glare captioned “When Ghostface Zooms you,” though toxicity flares: “Woke casting?” targets Spaeny’s vlogger, echoing VI‘s diversity rows. Ortega, in an October Elle chat, vouched: “Timothée’s Ezra is Sidney’s shadow—we’re mirrors of survival.” Landon told Collider: “Jenna’s the heart, Tim’s the wild card—Wes would grin.” Box Office Mojo projects $350 million, riding Scream (2022)’s $140 million and VI‘s $165 million, potentially minting a $1 billion franchise capstone.

Timeline aligns post-Mission: Impossible 8, with marketing in overdrive: Fortnite Ghostface skins, AR Snapchat filters spawning knife emojis, and Comic-Con 2026’s Woodsboro house haunt. Risks stalk: SAG-AFTRA flags ILM’s 60-hour VFX crunches (Bloomberg, August 2025), and Paramount’s $1.5 billion debt (post-Skydance merger) pressures profits. Culturally, it treads slasher sands—GLAAD praises Ezra’s queer-coded arc, but NAACP eyes vlogger “clout-chaser” tropes, prompting diversity audits.

In the grander massacre, Scream 7 anchors Paramount’s $100 billion horror arena, outpacing A24’s X sequels but trailing IT‘s $1.1 billion. Radio Silence’s Abigail (2024, $80 million) set the bar, but Scream’s 60 million lifetime tickets bank on Ortega’s Gen Z pull and Chalamet’s Oscar-adjacent draw. Triumph could forge a slasher dynasty; flop, and it’s Halloween Ends‘ echo. As the trailer fades on Ezra’s taunt—“Every scream’s a sequel”—Scream 7 slashes toward legacy or limbo. Fans, keep your knives out; D23 previews next month draw first blood.