Patrick Demspey addresses his absence from “Scream 7” after he was reportedly in talks to reprise his role as Mark Kincaid but then Joel McHale was added to the cast instead…
When the cast for “Scream 7” was slowly being revealed, fans were stunned when Joel McHale was announced as the latest addition while playing Sidney Prescott’s husband, Mark Evans.
Why was that so shocking?
Well, Patrick Dempsey, who famously portrayed LAPD Detective Mark Kincaid in “Scream 3,” was rumored to return after he confirmed talks had started about potentially reprising his role for the latest sequel. His inclusion was an exciting possibility after the directors behind “Scream 5” confirmed that Sidney’s brief mention of her husband “Mark” while talking to Dewey Riley on the phone was indeed Mark Kincaid from “Scream 3.”
Until now, we’ve never found out what happened to Dempsey’s potential casting in “Scream 7” but it turns out it really was a timing issue.
“It just didn’t work out and we were dealing with the fires and everything that was going on and the schedule didn’t work out, unfortunately,” Dempsey told Variety.
“Scream 7” already started production earlier this year with original “Scream” screenwriter Kevin Williamson returning to direct the sequel from a script by Guy Busick, who also penned “Scream 5” and “Scream 6.”
The possibility that Dempsey would return was celebrated, especially with the news that “Scream 7” was already bringing back a couple more famous faces from the past with Matthew Lillard returning to the franchise for the first time since playing Stu Macher in the original “Scream” and Scott Foley coming back as Roman Bridger after playing that part in “Scream 3.”
Sadly, Dempsey just wasn’t available to reprise his role as Mark Kincaid so the film moved on without him and McHale was cast in a new role to play Sidney’s husband in the film.
Of course, “Scream 7” marks the return of Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott after she sat out “Scream 6” over a salary dispute with the studio. In addition to Campbell, the new “Scream” movie also features Courteney Cox, Jasmin Savoy-Brown and Mason Gooding reprising their roles from previous films while new additions include Isabel May playing Sidney’s daughter, as well as Anna Camp, Mark Consuelos, Ethan Embry, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace, Celeste O’Connor, and Sam Rechner all joining the film as first timers.
“Scream 7” is still currently in production with the film set for release on February 27, 2026.
