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Courteney Cox Teases Gale Weathers' Scream Franchise Future
Courteney Cox has discussed her role in Scream 6 and teased her future in the slasher franchise. Since the original Scream in 1996, the Friends actress has played the tart-tongued reporter and consummate survivor Gale Weathers. She originally entered the franchise as a secondary antagonist, causing trouble for final girl Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and her friends while snooping around for dirt on the teen slayings occurring in the town. However, she quickly became part of the core trio, which also includes David Arquette as Dewey Riley, who Gale eventually married and then divorced. She has so far returned for every sequel in the franchise, including the 2022 legacy sequel Scream.
After Scream 2022 became a hit at the box office despite a pandemic-shy audience in January, Scream 6 was quickly greenlit. Since Campbell turned down an offer to appear in the film due to the compensation not reflecting her value to the franchise, Cox is now the only original cast member set to appear in the project, which will follow the continued adventures of the survivors of the new film, including sibling duos Sam and Tara Carpenter (Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega) and Chad and Mindy Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding and Jasmine Savoy Brown). Heroes star Hayden Panettiere is also set to reprise her role as fan-favorite Scream 4 character Kirby Reed.
Recently, Cox sat down with Variety for an interview about her new horror-comedy series Shining Vale. However, the conversation couldn't help but stray to her return to the Scream franchise in the next entry, which is currently filming in Canada. Cox reaffirmed that she will be appearing in the new film, saying that Weathers "may not ever [die], but who knows!" Read her full quote below:
Quote:
I did not die so yes you will see me. Gale’s pretty strong. She may not ever [die], but who knows!
There are two major takeaways from Cox's quote here. The first is the implication that as long as her character survives, she will continue to appear in Scream films, which is a prospect that is certain to delight fans of the franchise. The second is that, while she honors her character's strength, she may not end up surviving the franchise altogether.
The blasé nature of this quote certainly would seem to imply that Gale Weathers could survive Scream 6. However, if the film spawns a proper trilogy and continues into Scream 7, the screenwriters may want to say goodbye to the original legacy characters by making Gale a victim of the newest iteration of the Ghostface killer. Whatever her fate, Cox's enthusiasm for the character is clear, and certainly feeds into what a dynamic role Weathers has always held in the franchise.
