‘Scream 7’ will see Joel McHale as Sidney’s husband, not Patrick Dempsey

In another surprise move for the Scream franchise, Patrick Dempsey‘s Detective Mark Kincaid is not the husband of Neve Campbell‘s Sidney Prescott in the current timeline. A new piece of casting for the seventh film, which is now in production in Atlanta, sheds light on who is.

Joel McHale (Community) will officially play the role of Mark Evans, a completely different Mark who is married to Sidney in Scream 7, Entertainment Weekly has learned. Deadline was the first to report the news.

Fans (including this writer) long presumed Dempsey’s Kincaid married Ms. Prescott off-screen. The Grey’s Anatomy vet and Ferrari star first arrived in Scream 3 (2000) as the Hollywood detective investigating the murders of Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber) and the actors associated with Stab 3, the latest slasher movie-within-the-movie adaptation of the Woodsboro massacre. Years later, during scenes in 2022’s Scream revamp and its sequel, 2023’s Scream VI, characters referred to Sidney’s husband as “Mark,” presumably being Mark Kincaid.

Dempsey even signaled a potential casting in Scream 7 this past October during an interview with the morning talk show hosts of the Today show. “I’m waiting on the script,” he said at the time. “There has been a conversation about it. I haven’t seen anything yet, so we’ll see what happens.”

EW reached out to representatives for Spyglass and Dempsey for clarification, though it seems like those negotiations never came together. Dempsey is not in the movie at all, EW has learned.

In addition to Campbell, McHale now joins Isabel May as Sidney and Mark Evans’ daughter; Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers; Mason Gooding as Chad Meeks-Martin; and Mckenna Grace, Grace’s Ghostbusters: Afterlife costar Celeste O’Connor, Gen V‘s Asa Germann, The Fabelmans‘ Sam Rechner, and Pitch Perfect‘s Anna Camp as undisclosed characters.

Jasmin Savoy Brown, who stars in Yellowjackets opposite McHale as an upcoming season 3 guest star, is also set to reprise her role of Mindy Meeks-Martin, Chad’s sister who appeared as a member of the “Core Four” from the past two films. Variety was the first to report news of Brown’s casting.

Plot details on Scream 7 are still under lock and key, but it’s at least clear that the sequel will show the family Sidney built off-screen after all these years. Kevin Williamson, who helped launch Scream by writing the original film, as well as Scream 2 and Scream 4, is now directing Scream 7. Guy Busick, a writer on Scream (2022) and Scream VI, now pens the seventh movie. 

Paramount officially dated Scream 7 for release in theaters on Feb. 27, 2026, while Williamson shared the first production image as filming began in Atlanta this month.

“I’m not supposed to post about Scream, and I hope [Spyglass] and [Paramount] will forgive me, but when you have one of the best days of your life, it’s really hard to keep it to yourself,” he wrote in an Instagram post earlier in January. “What an extraordinary day I had working with an amazing and talented cast and crew. They brought their ‘A’ game and had my back every step of the way. I’m so very grateful for this opportunity and to Wes Craven, who was on my mind through it all. The profound impact he has had on my life and career is endless. What a day! I can’t wait for tomorrow!”

Campbell announced her return to Scream in a statement released in mid-March after sitting out the previous entry. “Sidney Prescott is coming back!!!!” Campbell wrote. “It’s always been such a blast and an honor to get to play Sidney in the Scream movies. My appreciation for these films and for what they have meant to me has never waned.”

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“I’m very happy and proud to say I’ve been asked, in the most respectful way, to bring Sidney back to the screen, and I couldn’t be more thrilled!!!” she continued. “Well, actually, I could. While I’ve been so incredibly lucky to make these films with both the master of horror Wes Craven and the wonderfully talented [Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin] team, I’ve dreamt for many years of how amazing it would be to make one of these movies with Kevin Williamson at the helm. And now it’s happening, Kevin Williamson is going to direct Scream 7! This was his baby and it’s his brilliant mind that dreamt up this world. Kevin is not just an inspiration as an artist but has been a dear friend for many years. To the amazing Scream fans, I hope you are as excited as I am. See you on set.”

This article was updated with Jasmin Savoy Brown’s casting.