Sarah Michelle Gellar Shares Perfect Response to Scream 7 Return (But Is That Even Possible?)

Like Friends, Scream and Scream 2 were definitive pieces of ’90s entertainment. Everyone watched them then and just as many people continue to watch them today. Furthermore, both Friends and Scream served as launching pads of sorts for many of the decade’s up-and-coming talent (not to mention, both featured Courteney Cox in important roles). This roster included Sarah Michelle Gellar, who, in Scream 2‘s release year of 1997, had just begun playing Buffy Summers and played an equally ill-fated part in I Know What You Did Last Summer. Gellar’s Cici Cooper is only in two scenes of the Ghostface sequel, but she had a substantial impact on the series. Yet, it seems she won’t be coming back for the upcoming Scream 7.

Both of her scenes in the movie are fantastic. First, we see her in film class, debating the merits of sequels alongside Joshua Jackson’s unnamed character and Timothy Olyphant’s Mickey Altieri, who just so happens to be one of the film’s two killers (and almost certainly the one who kills her). Then, she has her death scene in the Omega Beta Zeta sorority house, which is as expertly drawn out as any of the phone call scenes in the first movie, perhaps just a hair under the effectiveness of Casey Becker’s (Drew Barrymore).

Gellar was interviewed by ET‘s Brice Sander at the premiere of her newest project, Lifetime’s Pretty Hurts. The topic of Scream 7 (inadvertently) came up, and it sounds like the opposite of what happened with this year’s I Know What You Did Last Summer. In the case of that legacy sequel, Gellar was offered the chance to return, but she declined, as her Helen Shivers was killed off in the 1997 original film. With Scream 7, she hasn’t received the call, and even though her character was killed off by Ghostface, it would make sense for her to return, as she wouldn’t be alone in doing so.

[RELATED – Scream 7 Confirms Return of Another Dead Character (But Fans Will Be Excited)]

After Sander said that she’ll be back on screen soon in the Buffy the Vampire Slayer revival, Gellar initially believed he had said Scream, not “screen,” to which she said “I thought you said ‘Scream,’ but no I’m not in Scream, I tried to get in Scream but nobody wanted me … they’re bringing everybody back. I was thinking I would get a call, I didn’t get a call.”

Sander mentions how she died in Scream 2, so she wouldn’t be able to come back, but Gellar is apparently far more aware of the details of the seventh film’s casting announcements than he is, as she replies with, “Yeah, but there’s a lot of people who died in all the Scream movies that are back. Skeet [Ulrich], [Matthew] Lillard, I’m just saying I’m waiting for my call.”

As we saw in Scream (2022) and Scream VI, the franchise has no problem bringing back deceased characters, even if they’re antagonists. And, while it looks like Ulrich’s Billy Loomis won’t be returning for the seventh film, it’s still taking things up a notch by bringing back former Ghostfaces Stu Macher (the aforementioned Lillard) from Scream and Roman Bridger (Scott Foley) from Scream 3.

Not to mention, it’s also bringing back David Arquette as Dewey Riley, even though he was heartbreakingly killed off in Scream (2022). Whatever Kevin Williamson and crew are doing with all of these returning characters in the newest film one thing is certain: fans would love to see the return of Cici Cooper.