Sarah Michelle Gellar, the horror icon from the late 1990s who starred in films like I Know What You Did Last Summer and Cruel Intentions, says she would be open to returning to the Scream franchise. Gellar had a minor role in Scream 2 as Cici Cooper, one of Ghostface’s early victims in the movie. However, despite her character’s death (Cici gets thrown off the balcony of a frat house), Gellar is down to revive Cici: “I’m waiting for my call.”
The actor, also famous for her role as Buffy in the series Buffy the Vampire Slayer, spoke to Entertainment Tonight at the premiere of the film Pretty Hurts. Gellar talked about her return as the vampire hunter in the Buffy revival, and about how she doesn’t let her children see her in Cruel Intentions. She also said that, as much as she wants to return to the horror franchise Scream, she’s not in Scream 7, the upcoming sequel:
“No, I’m not in Scream. I tried to get in Scream. Nobody wanted me. They were bringing everybody back. I kept thinking I would get a call. I didn’t get a call.
“A lot of people that have died in the Scream movies are back. Skeet [Ulrich], [Matthew] Lillard. I’m just saying, I’m waiting for my call.”
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Scream 7 is set to land in theaters in February 2026. It’s written by Guy Busick and directed by Kevin Williamson, the writer who helped Wes Craven bring the Scream universe to life in the early days of the franchise. Returning stars include Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Matthew Lillard, and Scott Foley. They will be joined by a whole set of new characters, played by Ethan Embry, Joel McHale, Anna Camp, Mckenna Grace, Isabel May, Mark Consuelos and Asa Germann, among others.
Gellar’s Cici Cooper Isn’t Set to Return in ‘Scream 7’ — At Least, Not Yet
At this point, we should start addressing Scream 7 as “Scream: The Reunion.” Williamson’s sequel will not only bring back franchise icon Sidney Prescott as one of the leads, but the director has found a way to bring back more, including those who had died in previous entries. Skeet Ulrich, who played Billy Loomis in the original 1996 film, found himself reprising his role in the new generation of Scream, but his character was only alive in the mind of Sam Carpenter, his biological daughter. Nevertheless, it is hard to imagine what Williamson will do in order to make others like Dewey, Roman, and Stu return.
Bringing them back in dream sequences would be controversial. A narrative misstep representing the studio’s desperate need to squeeze the juice out of the franchise with nostalgia. It is still a mystery how their characters will return, but it does make you think. If some dead legacy characters are returning for the upcoming sequel, couldn’t others come back from the dead as well? More importantly, who’s to say that they are, and we are just unaware of their return?
In any case, Sarah Michelle Gellar does deserve a comeback. Reprising her role as Helen Shivers in I Know What You Did Last Summer was not possible. But what about Cici Cooper in Scream 7? Her death in Scream 2 wasn’t as gnarly as what happened to Stu Macher when his head was crushed by a TV set, and he will return. Keep your fingers crossed.
Source: Entertainment Tonight (YouTube)