Every film in the Scream franchise features a few new characters who are either friends with Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) or seem like they could be Ghostface (or in some cases, both). Some are more interesting than others, but it never feels like there are too many new characters or like they're overpowering the story. The focus is always on Sidney no matter what, something that won't be true of the latest film in the franchise, which will be released in theaters in March 2023.

Scream 6, however, is going to have a really big cast, which brings up the question of how this will affect the main plot and how this will go.

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Many actors have joined the cast of Scream 6. Dermot Mulroney will play a cop and other Scream 6 cast members include Josh Segarra, Devyn Nekoda, Liana Liberato, and Jack Champion. Henry Czerny was also cast (and fans of Mission: Impossible and Revenge will recognize the star), along with Tony Revolori and Samara Weaving.

Jenna Ortega holding a phone and screaming as Tara Carpenter in Scream (2022)

With the news that Neve Campbell isn't returning for Scream 6, and with Dewey Riley (David Arquette) having been sadly killed in Scream (2022), the only returning cast member from the entire franchise is Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox). Gale will be joined by Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown), Chad Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding), Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega), and Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera). That's five returning cast members and eight new cast members, which definitely sounds like a lot of characters and storylines to juggle.

Scream 6 will likely feel very different from previous entries. It will take place in New York City with a more violent Ghostface than seen before. There's also the fact that Sidney Prescott won't be in the movie, which still feels like a shame since she's the iconic final girl that everyone has enjoyed watching for so long. But while there are a lot of things to get excited about, it's possible that it will feel like the cast is too large.

The characters who aren't Gale and Mindy, Chad, Tara and Sam will fall into two categories: potential Ghostface killers and potential victims. While the fun of the Scream movies involve watching minor and main characters alike fight this famous villain and see who has put on this mask and costume, watching eight new characters seems pretty intense. It's possible that the younger actors will be part of the new friend group that Tara, Mindy and Chad have in New York City, which would explain the large cast and make a lot of sense.

Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin and Mason Gooding as Chad Meeks-Martin in Scream (2022)

Melissa Barrera said in an interview with Us Weekly, “It’s hard thinking that we’re making a movie without her. We can’t get too hung up on that because we gotta make another movie. Of course Sidney is present. Her essence is present in the movie, you can’t just ignore that. We were all heartbroken, but we totally understand and respect her decision and hopefully if we get to make another one, we can have her back.”

Without having Sidney as the heart, soul, and anchor of the Scream story, will there be enough character development to keep audiences as engaged and interested as they were before? While every film in the franchise has had a handful of new characters, this definitely seems like a super-sized cast. While it will be great to see the returning characters, including Hayden Panettiere's Scream character Kirby (which brings the number of returning characters up to six), it seems like it might be hard to connect with every new person. It's possible that a few of the cast members who have been announced will have brief roles or maybe even just be in one short scene, which would help explain the large cast.

Scream (2022) has a fairly big cast, but the film did a good job offering up fully formed young characters, particularly Mindy and Chad. It's great news that they'll be back, along with Sam and Tara. But while it will be fun to see what these characters are up to now and how they're faring after beating Ghostface, and every movie does require some new characters, eight seems like too many.

Ultimately, fans love the Scream franchise because of Sidney Prescott, Ghostface, the banter between characters, the horror film references, and the overall sense that the filmmakers are poking fun at the genre. Now that Sidney won't be part of the movie, it's possible that the story will get bogged down by the number of new characters, and it might be too many people to keep straight. This might take away from what audiences are looking for in a Scream movie. Fans are curious to see what horror tropes Scream 6 will include.

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