- David Arquette is confirmed as returning as Deputy Dewey Riley
- This is despite the character dying in Scream 5
- This is the third character to seemingly return from the dead for Scream 7
Scream fans were devastated when Deputy Dewey Riley met his end in Scream 5, but now the character is back for Scream 7 – leaving fans asking the same question.
Dewey, played by David Arquette, was one of the original cast members in Scream, playing the local police deputy, who investigated the murders in Woodsboro. His sister, Tatum (Rose McGowan), was the fifth victim of Ghostface in that film.
The character would go on to appear in subsequent Scream films, even marrying reporter Gail Weathers – played by his then real-life spouse, Courtney Cox – until he was killed in Scream 5 by Amber Freeman. Freeman was played by a young Mikey Madison, who was one of the big winners at the 2025 Oscars.
Back from the dead
But, as all horror fans know, death is not always the end for a character – and this is apparently the case for Dewey. Deadline broke the news that Arquette has reportedly signed on to reprise his character in the upcoming Scream 7.
He joins a growing list of characters returning from the dead for the seventh outing of this evergreen franchise. Matthew Lillard, who played Stu Macher in the first Scream film was confirmed in January, as was Scott Foley, who played the main killer in Scream 3, Roman Bridger – Syndey Prescott’s half-brother.
How does Dewey return in Scream 7?
Of course, fans are now all asking the same question: how is Dewey (and Macher and Foley) going to return, when they have been dead for, in some cases, many years? But with such big returnees, what impact will it have on the plot of the movie?
Unsurprisingly details of how any of these characters return is being kept under wraps by the studio. Fans are likely to have to wait until the film drops in theaters – it is scheduled to be released on February 27, 2026. Here is all we know about Scream 7.
But what we do know is that Scream 7 is taking something of a ‘back-to-basics’ approach, with many characters – living as well as (apparently) dead – being reprised. Other returnees include Neve Campbell and Courtney Cox as Prescott and Weathers respectively. They’ll be joined by Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown as Chad and Mindy from 2022’s Scream and 2023’s Scream 6.
