The first trailer for Scream 7 has unveiled a touching homage to a beloved character who perished in the iconic 1996 horror film.

The cherished slasher franchise introduced audiences to Neve Campbell’s Sydney Prescott, whose high school friends fall victim to a masked murderer known as Ghostface.

The original Ghostface is revealed to be Sydney’s boyfriend Billy Loomis (played by Skeet Ulrich), aided by his deranged friend Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard).

Among their initial victims is Sydney’s best friend, Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan), who meets a horrific end crushed by a garage door.

Three decades since the original film premiered in cinemas, another killer has assumed the Ghostface identity to pursue Sydney and journalist Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), reports the Mirror.

The latest trailer for Scream 7 has disclosed that Ghostface is now targeting Sydney’s daughter, played by Isabel May and named Tatum after McGowan’s character from the first instalment.

Devoted Scream enthusiasts immediately spotted the heartfelt reference and flocked to social media to highlight the tribute.

One X user posted: “Sydney named her daughter after Tatum!!!! The writers paying homage to Rose McGowan’s character did something to my nostalgia heart.”

“Actually looks good and I quite enjoy Sydney naming her daughter Tatum. Whooooo,” another person responded.

“The scream 7 trailer.. the nostalgia got me bro. sidney named her kid tatum. TATUM,” a third declared. And another said: “so far the only thing i love about the scream 7 trailer is that sid named her daughter after tatum.”

Despite praise for the new trailer, Scream 7 has generated controversy after Melissa Barrera, the star of the previous two sequels, was axed from the franchise for her comments about the Israel-Hamas war.

Her co-star Jenna Ortega also quietly left the project in a move some have interpreted as an act of solidarity.

Some fans have since threatened to boycott the new Scream film in support of Barrera’s stance.

One X user posted: “as a lifelong fan of the scream franchise, i can never support them again after what they did to melissa barrera.

“She was one of the first people in hollywood to speak up against the genocide and the producers of this film tried to ruin her for it. Boycott.”

Scream 7 will be released in UK cinemas on 27th February 2026.