List of Scream (film series) characters

Neve Campbell, David Arquette and Courteney Cox have central roles in the first four films, supporting roles in the fifth film, with only Cox returning for the sixth film, and both Campbell and Cox appearing in the seventh film. Jamie Kennedy has a central role in the first two films and an appearance in the third film, and Hayden Panettiere has a central role in the fourth and sixth films, while Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Mason Gooding, and Jasmin Savoy Brown have central roles in the fifth and sixth films, with Gooding and Brown both appearing in the seventh film.

Kevin Williamson's, Wes Craven's, and Radio Silence's American meta horror murder mystery and slasher film series Scream features a large cast of characters, many of whom were originally created by Kevin Williamson with contributions from Wes Craven (who directed the first four installments in the series) and Ehren Kruger (who wrote the third), and subsequently by new writers Guy Busick and James Vanderbilt with contributions from directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, and producer Chad Villella. The series comprises six films: Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), Scream 3 (2000), Scream 4 (2011), Scream (2022), and Scream VI (2023), with Scream 7 (2026) currently filming.

The series focuses on a succession of murderers who adopt a ghost-like disguise, dubbed Ghostface (voiced by Roger L. Jackson) who taunt and attempt to kill Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) in the first four films. She is assisted by ambitious news reporter Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) and police officer Dewey Riley (David Arquette). The fifth and sixth films shift focus to half-sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter (Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega) and twin siblings Chad and Mindy Meeks-Martin (Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown), referred to as the "Core Four" in the sixth film, while the seventh film will "start from scratch" with regards to its principal cast.^[1] Other major recurring characters include film-geek Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy), falsely accused Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber), single mother Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton), and FBI agent Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere).

The first four films in the series were directed by Craven and scored by Marco Beltrami. Williamson wrote Scream, Scream 2 and Scream 4, but scheduling commitments meant he could provide only notes for Scream 3, which was written by Ehren Kruger. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett directed the fifth and sixth films, with writing duties helmed by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick.^{[2][3][4][5][6]}

Each film provides a motive and grounds for suspicion for several characters, concealing the identity of the true killer or killers until the finale, in which their identities and motivations are revealed.