‘Scream’ alum Alison Brie says the “problem with the current era” of the franchise is that “too many people live”

Scream actor Alison Brie has shared her frustration with the franchise’s kill count, while also speculating about a potential resurrection for her character.

During a recent appearance on the Shut Up Evan podcast, Brie shared that she had recently pitched for her character’s return for Scream 7 after several of her former castmates were announced to be brought back from the dead for the new film.

“Alison was famously in Scream 4,” her husband, Dave Franco, mentioned on the podcast. “I feel like with new Scream rules, even though she dies brutally, we could bring her back,” to which she replied: “Yeah, where’s my role in Scream 7?”

Brie played publicist Rebecca Walters in the fourth instalment of the horror, and was ultimately stabbed in the stomach by Ghostface before being thrown off the edge of a parking garage.

It was previously reported that David Arquette, Matthew Lillard and Scott Foley would reprise their deceased characters in the seventh instalment, prompting fellow Scream alums Sarah Michelle Gellar and Parker Posey to pitch their own characters’ return as well.

After Skeet Ulrich’s return in the previous two films, Brie noted: “I hear tons of people are coming back. … I mean, Hayden [Panettiere] came back in [Scream] six.”

Elsewhere on the podcast, Brie also said that her “problem with the current era” of the franchise was down to the survival of the “core four” characters.

Made up of Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega), Chad Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding) and Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown), the four all survived the previous two sequels.

“Too many people live,” Brie reasoned. “The ‘core four’ needs to die. We killed [Jamie Kennedy’s Randy Meeks] in ‘Scream 2.’ We should be down to two of the ‘core four,’ just by Scream 7.’”

She also admitted that the murder of original character Dewey Riley (Arquette) was “very sad” and “a mistake”, urging: “Keep the main three.”

Back in March, it was confirmed that Arquette’s Dewey would be joining the new film despite having been killed in 2022’s Scream.

Matthew Lillard, who played Stu Macher – one of the two original Ghostface Killers – will also be returning for Scream 7, despite his character presumably being killed off at the end of the first film.

Lillard was a key figure in the first Scream film, released in 1996. During the classic horror’s conclusion, his character, Stuart “Stu” Macher, was the accomplice to the Ghostface killer, Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich). It was assumed he was killed along with Billy, although over the years fans have been quick to point out the audience never sees him die.

Scream 7 is scheduled for release on February 27 2026. Lillard will join franchise regulars Courtney Cox and Neve Campbell. Campbell did not appear in the previous instalment, Scream VI, having refused to return due to a pay dispute. Last year, she spoke about her relief that the studio “came back to me in a respectful way”.

It was announced around the same time that Jenna Ortega wouldn’t be returning, either, due to scheduling conflicts with her Netflix series Wednesday, as well as salary disputes.

However, Neve Campbell, who plays Sidney Prescott in the series, is set to reprise her role after dropping out of 2023’s Scream 6. Mason Gooding will return as Chad Meeks-Martin, too, while Isabel May will play Sidney’s daughter. Anna Camp has also been announced, while fellow newcomers include Celeste O’Connor, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace and Sam Rechner.

Scream 6 scored a four-star review from NME, with Alex Flood writing: “Scream VI isn’t perfect: the constant meta references (past killers, the ‘rules’ of the franchise) felt inventive in last year’s reboot, but here grow tiresome.”