Scream 2022’s Ghostface Reveal Debunked 6 Theories

Scream 2022’s Ghostface reveal debunked at least six big theories about who the killer would be. The new film is the first sequel for the Wes Craven horror franchise since 2011’s Scream 4, which once again saw Neve Campbell’s “final girl” Sidney Prescott embroiled in another series of Ghostface murders, before discovering their identity and killing them instead. Prior films in the Scream franchise saw the killers revealed as a variety of different characters with different motives, but with all of them taking on the mantle of Ghostface.

Written and created by Kevin Williamson in 1996, the Scream franchise’s success is often credited to Craven, who helmed the first four films before his death in 2015. Neve Campbell has been the lead of the series since its inception, with a bit of torch-passing happening in Scream 2022, but with her character still remaining a legacy one. Scream 2022 also stars longtime franchise players David Arquette as Dewey and Courtney Cox as Gale, which of course makes them suspects when new Ghostface killings begin again in Scream 2022.

Of course, Scream 2022 has a number of new suspects, as well as old theories that continue to return. While any new character introduced is a suspect, some of the newer ones have a deeper connection to the series, including the Meeks-Martin siblings. While it’s frequently brought up that a former Ghostface killer could return, even if they were killed onscreen, those theories are fairly easy to debunk for obvious reasons, but some keep coming up regardless, especially with Stu (Matthew Lillard) who was one of the Ghostface killers in the first film. In addition, any surviving character, particularly the legacy ones, are put on the chopping block as potential killers, including Sidney, Dewey, and Gale. However, none of the above are the Ghostface killers in Scream 2022.

Dewey as the killer

Dewey Riley is a sheriff in Woodsboro who has been through every Ghostface killer resurgence since the original film, surviving each encounter, but taking a toll as he does. Dewey fell in love with Gale (Cox) and the two were later married, with Dewey still maintaining his sheriff role in Woodsboro. Dewey’s motive for being the killer was always a shaky one, as he’d spent his life fighting Ghostface killers. In Scream 2022 he’s now retired and separated from Gale, seemingly washed up and lost. He’s the driving force behind the theories of who the killer could be to the new cast, who even bring up that he could be the killer due to his current state. However, Dewey pays the ultimate price in the film, as he dies trying to protect the new protagonists, being stabbed and cut open by Ghostface before being told “it’s an honor” to kill him.

Stu as the killer

Stu Macher is played by Matthew Lillard in the first Scream film, who is the second Ghostface killer, having teamed up with Billy Loomis in his revenge scheme on Sidney Prescott. At the end of the film, Stu is stabbed and eventually has a TV pushed on top of his head. It appears that Stu is killed by this, but many have continued to theorize that it wasn’t enough to kill him. Although he’s never seen again and is only mentioned in passing in Scream 2, fans have rationalized that he could still be alive and biding his time to strike (or waiting out a prison sentence). However, Stu does not appear in Scream 2022, even though the finale takes place in his old house.

Randy returns to be the killer

Randy Meeks was played by Jamie Kennedy in the first Scream film, and was an instrumental character, having developed the “rules for surviving a horror movie” and sharing them with his friends, a staple that’s been a part of the series ever since. Sadly, Meeks was killed in Scream 2, stabbed inside a van where his body was discovered by Dewey and Gale, looking very bloody and obviously dead. However, fans have clung to theories that Randy somehow faked his own death, which is pretty implausible given the circumstances of his death. Still, the rumors and theories have persisted regardless, suggesting that Randy would be some kind of killer mastermind hiding out this whole time, waiting to strike when the moment was right. However, Meeks is nowhere to be found in Scream 2022, outside of his niece and nephew, who become suspects themselves.

The Meeks-Martin siblings are the killers

As soon as the Scream 2022 connection to Randy Meeks was made with Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin and Mason Gooding as Chad Meeks-Martin, all bets were off. A theory that they could be out for revenge for their uncle Randy’s death was floated as soon as the connection was made, suggesting that they would inherit his love and understanding of horror films and twist it to fit a revenge narrative. However, in the end, both of the Meeks-Martin siblings turned out to be innocent and both actually survive the Ghostface killings in Scream 2022, despite the best efforts to put them in the grave.

Gale as the killer

One of the predominant theories for Gale Weathers returning was that she would become Ghostface in an attempt to revitalize her career. In Scream 4 she was struggling to reinvent herself as a writer, moving away from the news personality that she’d thrived on before. In Scream 2022 it’s revealed that she’s divorced from Dewey and living and working in New York as a morning show host. Seemingly successful in her career again, the motive to be Ghostface doesn’t really factor in, and ultimately Gale is revealed to be the same as always – an ally in fighting against Ghostface, despite her desire to use it for news. By the end of Scream 2022, after surviving a gunshot wound from the killers, she says she’ll focus on writing a book about the heroics of the deceased Dewey instead.

Sidney as the killer

Probably the most widely-circulated theory each time a new Scream movie arrives is that the main protagonist and “final girl” of the series, Sidney Prescott, will become the killer. The theories are varied, some being that she’s secretly been a sociopath the entire time and has been playing the long con for her objectives. Another theory suggests that she is so traumatized by her past experiences with Ghostface that she goes insane and takes up the mantle herself. However, those theories require far too much retconning and suspension of disbelief to ever truly sell Sidney as the killer. In Scream 2022 she’s a married mother with three kids and acts as a kind of “Nick Fury” of the Scream universe, showing up to help save the day and guiding the new protagonists in their endeavors to end the Woodsboro curse forever. By the end of Scream 2022, Sidney helps kill the real Ghostface killers (Amber and Richie), while giving advice to the survivors about how to cope with the trauma.

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