Among the many surprisesScream 7has had so far is Patrick Dempsey’s Mark Kincaid not being Sidney Prescott’s (Neve Campbell) husband, and with this, the movie is safe from repeating the reboot movies’ most controversial mistake. TheScreamreboot movies have found great success and have brought the beloved horror franchise back to life.Scream2022 brought back the original three survivors of the past movies – Sidney, Gale (Courteney Cox), and Dewey (David Arquette) – and introduced a new generation of characters, led by sisters Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega).
Scream 6became the first movie in the saga to not have Sidney involved at all, but after some big shake-ups during pre-productionScream 7, she’s now back as the main Final Girl.Melissa Barrera’s firingand Jenna Ortega dropping out ofScream 7led to a creative rework, with Kevin Williamson now as director and Campbell back as Sidney, along with other legacy characters. After lots of speculation on Dempsey’s return as Mark Kincaid,Scream 7surprised fans with a different actor as Sidney’s husband, which has now saved the movie from repeating a controversial mistake from the reboot timeline.
Patrick Dempsey Was Supposed To Play Mark Kincaid In Scream 7
No More Mark Kincaid In The Scream Franchise
Patrick Dempsey joinedtheScreamsagain 2000 inScream 3.Dempsey played Mark Kincaid, a detective in Los Angeleswho was assigned to investigate the Ghostface murders in Hollywood, which kicked off with the murder of Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber) and his girlfriend. Mark and Sidney met when she was taken to the police station, and at different points inScream 3, the audience was led to believe Mark could be the Ghostface killer. Nearthe end ofScream 3, Mark was attacked by Ghostface, butthe final scene revealed he survived and got together with Sidney.
Sidney’s husband was mentioned to be named “Mark”, and the audience was led to assume Sidney and Mark had reconnected at some point betweenScream 4andScream2022.
Scream 4revealed Sidney was single, but when she returned inScream2022, she was happily married and had children. Sidney’s husband was mentioned to be named “Mark”, and the audience was led to assume Sidney and Mark had reconnected at some point betweenScream 4andScream2022. Now, it’s confirmed that Sidney’s husband is Mark Evans, thusPatrick Dempsey isn’t returning inScream 7, but he was originally planned to do so. In October 2024, Dempsey teased there were talks about his return to theScreamsaga, but in March 2025,Dempsey revealed why those plans didn’t materialize.
Dempsey toldVarietythat returning toScream 7as Mark Kincaid “didn’t work out”,and with the Los Angeles fires and his current work schedule, they couldn’t find a way to make it work. At some point during the development ofScream 7, then, Mark Kincaid was supposed to be Sidney’s husband, but Dempsey’s schedule led to yet another creative rework, with Sidney’s husband becoming the unknown Mark Evans.
Scream 7’s Mark Kincaid Return Risked Repeating A Legacy Character Mistake
Scream 2022 Made A Controversial Decision With A Legacy Character
Having Mark Kincaid back inScream 7as Sidney’s husband would have been a great moment for fans of the saga and those who rooted for their relationship. However, there was a big risk ofScream 7repeating a controversial legacy character mistake from the fifth movie.What’s known aboutScream 7is that Ghostface’s target will be Sidney’s family, and for that, there will be a time jump so her kids will be older.
Now, theScreamsaga has given Sidney various tragedies when she’s the lead character (let’s not forget the murders began with her mother’s), soit was theorized thatScream 7could see the death of Mark Kincaid. With their family in danger and being haunted by one or more Ghostface killers, it would have made sense if Mark “sacrificed” himself for his family’s safety, and though that would have been yet another personal tragedy for Sidney, it would have been sadly fitting with her story.
Killing Mark Kincaid would have repeatedScream2022’s decision to get rid of a beloved legacy character. The fifthScreammovie revealed that Dewey and Gale divorced at some point afterScream 4, but they, along with Sidney, aided the new characters when a new wave of murders began. Dewey was killed by Ghostface at the hospital where Tara was staying, andthis decision to kill Dewey was met with strong reactions from fans.Scream 7, then, had Mark Kincaid returned, would have risked repeating this same mistake with even worse consequences given his stronger link to Sidney.
Mark Evans’ Casting Sparked Some Theories
Spoilers for Assassination Nation & It’s A Wonderful Knife
Scream 7now has its Mark Evans as it hascast Joel McHale as Sidney’s husband. No details are known about the character yet, but McHale’s casting quickly sparked some theories about Mark Evans’ possible role inScream 7.It’s now theorized that McHale’s character will be one of the new Ghostface killers, mostly based on McHale’s charm and track record with this type of characters. In the 2018 comedy horror thrillerAssassination Nation, McHale played a family man with a dark secret and an even darker side that comes to light when his double life is exposed.
It would be tragic for Sidney if her husband turned out to be a serial killer, even more so one who attacked his own family.
Most recently, McHale appeared in the Christmas slasher comedyIt’s A Wonderful Knife, in which he once more played a family man who, in an unexpected twist, is also a psycho serial killer. Surely, just like Kincaid dying at the hands of Ghostface, it would be tragic for Sidney if her husband turned out to be a serial killer, even more so one who attacked his own family (or, at the very least, planned those attacks).
On the other hand, those same elements that make McHale’s character so suspicious are the ones thatScream 7can use to its favor.It won’t be surprising ifScream 7uses McHale’s character as a red herring, but hopefully, if he isn’t Ghostface, he will survive and he, Sidney, and their kids can move on.
Either Way, Scream 7 Has Already Made A Sidney Mistake
Scream 7’s Rework Turned Out To Be Worse For Sidney
Scream 7isn’t at risk of repeating the legacy character mistake Scream 2022 made, and there’s hope for Mark Evans to be a good person, but the movie has already made a big mistake with Sidney. After returning to Woodsboro to help Sam and Tara in the fifthScreammovie, the sequel justified her absence by revealing Sidney and her family moved to a safe place, with Gale even mentioning that she deserved her happy ending… because she absolutely did.
By bringing Sidney back and making her the main character again,Scream 7has undone the happy ending the previous movie gave her.
As good as it is to have the original Final Girl back inScream 7,Sidney deserves her happy ending and being safe with her family after everything she has gone through. By bringing her back and making her the main character again,Scream 7has undone the happy ending the previous movie gave her, and she might be on her way to experiencing more heartbreak and tragedy. Surely,Scream 7can still give Sidney Prescott the ending she deserves, but it will have to give a good reason for her return and her family being attacked by a Ghostface killer.
