The Real Reason Emma Roberts Skipped Scream 7 — Even The Director Wanted Her Back

Scream 7 almost brought back one of the franchise's wildest twists: Emma Roberts as Jill Roberts. Director Kevin Williamson pushed hard to make it happen. The plan fell apart thanks to scheduling, which is a pretty unglamorous reason for a pretty fun idea.

The Jill that got away

Back in Scream 4, Roberts' Jill shows up as Sidney's cousin and apparent next target, only to reveal herself as a fame-hungry Ghostface angling to become the new final girl. Williamson still loves that motive and tried to fold her into Scream 7 as a cameo.

'I desperately wanted Emma Roberts... I asked her like three times... It just didn’t work out for her. She couldn’t make it.'

He also called Jill a big fan-favorite and singled out that late-film reveal as the strongest swing in Scream 4.

What Scream 7 did instead

Williamson directed the seventh movie and co-wrote it with Guy Busick, with William Sherak, James Vanderbilt, and Paul Neinstein producing. The cast is stacked:

• Neve Campbell
• Courteney Cox
• Jasmin Savoy Brown
• Mason Gooding
• Anna Camp
• Mckenna Grace
• Michelle Randolph
• Jimmy Tatro
• Asa Germann
• Celeste O'Connor
• Joel McHale
• Sam Rechner
• Ethan Embry
• Tim Simons
• Mark Consuelos

And in a move that is both audacious and guaranteed to spark debate, franchise vets Matthew Lillard, Scott Foley, and David Arquette returned as Stu Macher, Roman Bridger, and Dewey Riley — yes, even though those characters died in the 1996 original, Scream 3 in 2000, and the 2022 film, respectively.

How it played

Box office: massive. The film has cleared more than $177 million worldwide, making it the highest-grossing entry in the series. Critics: less enthused. It currently sits as the lowest-rated Scream with a 31% score on Rotten Tomatoes.

So no Jill cameo this time, but Williamson clearly tried. If the series keeps cashing in like this, never say never to another Ghostface blast from the past.