'I think I should, honestly': Courteney Cox wants to direct Scream 8
Courteney Cox has made a bold play to direct Scream 8 — and, frankly, her logic’s hard to fault.
If you've followed the Scream films at all (and let's be honest, you can hardly avoid them every couple of years), you know Courteney Cox has been well and truly stitched into the series since day one. Now she's come out with a fairly bold suggestion: maybe it's time she directed Scream 8 herself. And, honestly, after hearing her reasoning, it's not as mad as it might sound.
Asked about the idea during promo for her new film at the Toronto Film Festival 2026, Cox put it like this: "I think I should, honestly. Nobody knows more about that movie than I do."
She didn't totally ignore the rest of the Scream gang, quickly giving a nod to the original creator, the late Wes Craven, along with the series' other writers and long-time cast members. But you can tell the idea's sparking some genuine enthusiasm for her—she called the prospect "great and fun and a good publicity thing" as well.
Scream 7’s Mixed Legacy
The backdrop to all this? Scream 7 landed earlier this year with Cox and Neve Campbell both back in their signature roles, under the direction of Kevin Williamson. The numbers were big: $208 million worldwide, which is now the high-water mark for any of the sequels. The reviews… not so thrilling. Rotten Tomatoes currently has the film scraping by at just 30% with critics, marking a franchise-low.
Scream 7 is officially the franchise's highest-grossing sequel to date.
None of that's put Spyglass off. The studio's straight onto Scream 8, roping in sisters Lilla and Nora Zuckerman (yes, really; they're a writing duo) to bash out the script. Williamson and Campbell are apparently kicking around ideas too, so it's fair to say the legacy crowd are still in the loop.
Cox’s Directing Ambitions
As for Cox herself, she's not just talking—she's now got real directing credits under her belt. Her latest, Evil Genius, dives into the headline-grabbing "pizza bomber" heist as a full-on true crime piece. That one's from a script by Courtenay Miles, and stars Patricia Arquette, David Harbour, and Tom McCarthy. Cox is pitching it as a proper look at deception and desperation, and it tries to blur the line between victims and villains—not your average Friday night popcorn thriller, by the sound of it.