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Slashers are all about moving forward even after you've lost someone, but that's a much harder concept to work with here in the real world. Case in point - Kevin Williamson, the screenwriter and co-creator of the original Scream - recently revealed that after the passing of the franchise's most storied director, he considered leaving the Ghostface gang altogether. And since it's horror icon Wes Craven we're talking about, we can understand why. 

The quote comes from an interview Williamson did with IndieWire, in which the screenwriter and now legendary horror producer gave a retrospective on his relationship with Scream as a long-running gig. Noting that making the Scream movies has always ben "a blast," Williamson did clarify that in reality, he's "never really left the franchise. I was always there on the sidelines," which his repeated credits as executive producer can prove. However, when the first film's director passed, there was that moment when his ties to the franchise grew weaker.

"The reason I stepped away was mainly Wes [Craven's death]," recounts the producer ad writer, "Because I was like, 'Our time has passed. How can I make a Scream without Wes?' I wasn’t going to be a part of any of it."

In the same breath, though, Williamson explains that another thought occurred to him on the same subject - if Wes Craven was gone from Scream, did he really want to be gone from it as well?

"Then I realized I didn’t want there to be a Scream made without me," concluded Williamson. "So I stayed involved and I’m really glad I did. The same way Wes created a family, I think this group of people have created a family, and it’s been quite wonderful to be a part of it."

Well we're glad you did, Kevin. Now what are the odds on you feeling a pull to return to The Faculty?

Scream VII slashes into theaters February 27, 2026.

In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, "Life's no fun without a good scare." Join Popverse's weekly explorations of the best opening moments of horror cinema in The Coldest Open, and then check out:

• The best horror movies of all time, according to horror aficionado Greg Silber
• The most underrated horror movies from the past couple years
• All the new and upcoming horror movies for 2025 and beyond

And much gore. Er, more. Much more.