Scream 7 may not be the final movie in the horror franchise after all, as new report suggests an eighth film is being mapped out

Scream 7 hasn't even been released in cinemas yet, but that hasn't stopped Paramount Pictures from mapping out plans for an eighth installment – or so a new report from Variety has claimed, anyway.

What's perhaps most bizarre about the news, though, is that the upcoming sequel has been hinting through its marketing that it'll be the final chapter – with teasers that invite long-time fans to experience "one last scream" or TV spots that suggest "every phone call" and "every killer has led to this".

"It's a whole full circle story for Sidney," Campbell previously told GamesRadar+. "She's made the very brave choice to have children herself… She wants to live in this small town, have a family, and overcome her past. And of course, she's got great fear that'll come to visit her family. But you know she gets to sort of heal that wound."

The fact that it's bringing back two former Ghostface killers, too, in the form of Matthew Lillard's Stu Macher and Scott Foley's Roman Bridger (who was pretty definitively shot in the head in the criminally-underrated Scream 3, mind) doubles down on its sense of totality, too. But I guess Paramount is waiting to see how well it does at the box office before pulling the plug with its red, right hand. As it stands, it's currently estimating a $60 million opening weekend...

Written and directed by Kevin Williamson, who penned Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997) and Scream 4 (2011), Scream 7 sees Neve Campbell return as Sidney Prescott, following her absence in Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin's Scream 6. Having settled into a quiet life in Indiana, Sidney sees her domestic bliss upended when a new Ghostface starts terrorizing her daughter, Tatum. Isabel May, Anna Camp, Mason Gooding, Jasmine Savoy Brown, McKenna Grace, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox round out the supporting cast.

Scream 7 releases in UK cinemas on February 26, and US theaters the following day. For more, check out our guide to all the upcoming horror movies heading our way.