David Arquette is officially returning as Deputy Dewey Riley in Scream 7 – and fans are already theorising about how it might happen.
Although Arquette's character was killed off in the horror franchise's fifth instalment, comebacks for other dead characters like Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) and Roman Bridger (Scott Foley) were already confirmed earlier this year.
There have been some theories that Stu and Roman would likely appear as hallucinations, similar to how Skeet Ulrich's Billy Loomis returned in Scream as a vision in the mind of his daughter Sam (Melissa Barrera).
However, fans have some other ideas, with several predicting that the trio will instead return via AI.
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In a post on X, Bloody Disgusting asked fans how the upcoming instalment will bring the three characters back into the fold.
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While some suggested flashbacks or hallucinations, others posited that the film's new Ghostface will use AI or deepfakes to taunt Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott, who's also returning after she skipped Scream 6.
"Ghostface uses AI to recreate their voices," wrote one fan. "Ghostface will periodically switch between the OG voice and one of the returning characters."
A second added: "It's the AI storyline, almost certainly. The new Ghostface will be tormenting Sydney with AI versions of past Ghostfaces."
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Over on Bloody Disgusting's Instagram post about the news, commenters expressed hopes for flashback scenes – and there was further discussion of the AI theory, too.
"It's either going the Wes Craven's New Nightmare route, or the killer(s) will be implementing AI f**kery to mess with Sidney (kinda like how in part 3 a voice changer was used)," one commenter wrote.
"Are we getting deepfake Ghostface instead of voice modulators?" asked another.
Scream 7 will also bring back Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers, Mason Gooding as Chad Meeks-Martin and Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin, while newcomers include Yellowstone prequel star Isabel May, Anna Camp, Celeste O'Connor, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace and Sam Rechner.
One cast member who won't be returning is Patrick Dempsey, who first appeared as Detective Mark Kincaid in Scream 3 but was unable to return for the fourth instalment as he was filming Transformers: Dark of the Moon.
Though Dempsey expressed an interest last October in rejoining the horror franchise, he recently confirmed that things "didn't work out".
"It just didn't work out and we were dealing with the fires and everything that was going on and the schedule didn't work out, unfortunately," he said, referring to the recent wildfires in California.
Scream 7 will be released in cinemas on February 27, 2026.
Social Executive, Entertainment Portfolio After completing her joint honours degree in Journalism and English Literature at Cardiff University, Iona joined Digital Spy as a Content Production Intern in 2022, where she wrote across both news and features, specialising in TV and movies. Following her internship, Iona continued contributing to the site as a freelance reporter, becoming social executive for the Hearst UK entertainment portfolio in summer 2025. Iona now leads the DS social channels, covering red carpets with stars such as Paul Mescal, Austin Butler, and more.
