Warning: This post contains minor spoilers for “Scream 7.”
For the seventh time in 30 years, Ghostface is back on the big screen. “Scream 7” is now in theaters, and this time, Sidney Prescott is back after Neve Campbell sat out “Scream VI” over a pay dispute. It’s yet another chapter in one of cinema’s most enduring horror franchises, but this one had to soldier on without a key figure who helped make the series a success all over again: producer Ron Lynch.
In the latest sequel, a new Ghostface killer emerges in the small town where Sidney Prescott (Campbell) has managed to build a new, quiet life. Sidney’s darkest fears come to light as her daughter (Isabel May) is the killer’s latest target. Determined to protect her family, she must face the horrors of her past yet again in an attempt to end the bloodshed once and for all. “Scream 7” has been met with mixed reactions thus far.
Without getting into major spoiler territory, there are signs seen throughout the sequel that feature the name Ron Lynch, a local politician in the universe of the movies. The camera lingers on these signs, making them feel important. That’s because they are. In real life, Lynch was a key producer of the “Scream” movies, in addition to being something of an unsung Hollywood legend.
Unfortunately, Lynch passed away in December 2024, meaning he didn’t get to see this movie through to the end. The signs that appear throughout the sequel are a way of paying tribute to the man. He also gets an “in memory of” tribute during the end credits, as a further acknowledgment of his accomplishments.
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Ron Lynch was a key part of bringing Scream back from the dead
Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott with a gun out in the kitchen in Scream 7 – Paramount Pictures
Ron Lynch served as a senior executive at five different studios throughout his long career, including as the Executive Vice President of Studio Operations at Paramount Pictures from 2007 to 2009. Paramount is notably the studio that has distributed every “Scream” movie dating back to Wes Craven’s 1996 hit that saved the slasher genre. He also served as the Vice President of Production at Orion Pictures, Senior Vice President of Production at Walt Disney Pictures, Executive Vice President of Production at Universal Pictures, and Executive Vice President of Production at Sony Pictures at various points.
Lynch was responsible for many movies during his career as a major figure at these studios. Some of his key credits include “Jumanji,” “The Fast and the Furious,” “Starship Troopers,” “Meet the Parents,” and “The Bourne Identity,” as well as the hit TV series “Yellowstone.” His influence was substantial.
As it relates to “Scream,” Lynch became involved with the series in the 2020s when Spyglass and Paramount brought it back to life. He served as an executive producer on 2022’s “Scream,” the bloody legacy sequel that took aim at toxic fandom, as well as 2023’s “Scream VI.” He is credited as an executive producer on “Scream 7,” but sadly, he passed away long before the movie was in the can.
The tribute to Lynch, paying respect to his somewhat unsung contributions to Hollywood, is undoubtedly a nod to the fact that he helped bring this classic slasher franchise back from the dead after more than a decade break following 2011’s “Scream 4,” which served as Wes Craven’s unintended farewell. That was Craven’s last film; he died in 2015.
“Scream 7” is in theaters now.
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Read the original article on SlashFilm.