Scream writer had a totally different plan for the franchise before Ready or Not directors took over for Scream 5 and 6 – and Emma Roberts' character Jill would have played a big part

Scream 5 and 6 would have gone down very differently if original screenwriter Kevin Williamson had been in the driver's seat. Before Ready or Not helmers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett took the reins, Williamson had his own plans for what would follow 2011's Scream 4.

"In my original conceit, Jill survived and went to college," Williamson told CinePop, referring to Sidney Prescott's teen cousin who was introduced in the fourth installment – and revealed to be Ghostface. "She got away with it, all the killings in Scream 4 she got away with, and she was now the new Sidney and she was the new celebrity victim, and she was loving it. And someone figured her out and started killing all the people in her life, and so in order for her not to be exposed as the killer, she had to find the killer. And that was Scream 5."

Instead, 2022's Scream 5 introduced a new cast of young characters, including Jenna Ortega's Tara, Melissa Barrera's Sam, Jasmin Savoy Brown's Mindy, Mason Gooding's Chad, Mikey Madison's Amber, and Jack Quaid's Richie.

Williamson had a pitch for Scream 6, too – although this time, the focus was on an original cast member. "My Scream 6 was, now that Gale Weathers is trying to build a life without Dewey, because I would have killed Dewey too – yes, I had planned to kill him as well – she was trying to rebuild her life, and it was about her finding love," Williamson continued. "In a weird way she goes through exactly the same thing Sidney went through in Scream 1, which was, she's dating a man, is he or isn't he the killer. She doesn't know."

In the version of Scream 6 that hit the big screen, Scream 5's "core four" returned, and the action moved to New York City.

After taking a break from the franchise after Scream 4, Williamson is back to pen new sequel Scream 7 – and he's in the director's chair, too. Courteney Cox returns as Gale Weathers, alongside Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, and Savoy Brown and Gooding and twins Mindy and Chad.

Scream 7 arrives in theaters on February 27. In the meantime, check out our guide to the other upcoming horror movies to add to your watchlist in 2026.