David Arquette Jokes He’s Still ‘In Therapy’ Over ‘Scream 5’ — But Would He Return to the Franchise?

David Arquette understands that fans still aren't over the death of his Scream character, Deputy Dewey — because he isn’t, either.

“That one was very harsh,” Arquette, 52, joked to Us Weekly exclusively while promoting his upcoming film The Good Half . “I'm still in therapy over it.”

Arquette began his run as the lovable Dewey in 1996’s Scream alongside Neve Campbell and ex-wife Courteney Cox , who portrayed final girl Sydney Prescott and journalist Gale Weathers, respectively. The trio all returned for the franchise’s four subsequent sequels, but 2022’s Scream 5 saw Dewey meet an untimely end after going head to head with Ghostface in a hospital hallway.

Arquette told Us that his and Cox’s 20-year-old daughter, Coco, has been hesitant to watch her parents fight for their lives in horror films over the years. And when she finally decided to give the fifth film a chance, there may have been a few regrets.

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“It was funny. Coco, she went to a screening of Scream 5 . We had tried to watch it before and she was like, ‘Dad, this is just weird watching the Scream movies.’ And I was like, ‘OK let's not watch it,’” Arquette recalled. “And then when she went to go see Scream 5 , she was like, ‘Oh my gosh, I can't believe it.’ She didn’t open her eyes.’”

Dewey’s death was aggressively brutal — he was stabbed repeatedly by Ghostface with multiple knives before being sliced open and left to bleed out. In his final moments, he sees Gale’s face and smiles as Ghostface tells him it’s been an “honor” to murder him. (Dewey and Gale, who got together in the 1996 movie, are divorced by Scream 5 , mirroring Arquette and Cox’s real-life dynamic.)

Despite squirming over the more gory aspects of the scene, Arquette said that Dewey’s goodbye really resonated with their daughter. “She was like, ‘Wow, they really loved your character so much,’” he said, smiling.

While Arquette would “love to still be a part” of the franchise that he “loves so much,” he does believe his character had a timely farewell. He began his tenure with Scream under the guidance of OG director Wes Craven , who died in 2015.

“I do think that Dewey represented Wes in a big way. At least like part of his lighter, comedic side,” Arquette confessed. “We had a lot of fun throughout the years in finding humor with Dewey's character And a lot of that humor was Wes. He'd come up and tell me to eat an ice cream cone and then stomp on it like it was a cigarette. Like, these silly things that were so Wes. … He gave [Dewey] humor and I think he really kind of connected with that character.”

Ultimately, Arquette agrees that directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett , who took over for movies 5 and 6, gave Dewey the “heroic goodbye” he deserved. He does, however, have a few qualms about how it all went down.

“Dewey would have shot the killer in the head,” Arquette joked, pointing to the character’s longtime career in law enforcement. “He would've known that. But I had to suspend my disbelief. He got distracted by love. That's what killed him.”

The actor — who admitted to pitching Dewey as the killer more than once — added: “As sad it was, [Dewey’s] death followed the fact that we had lost Wes.”

That, of course, meant that Dewey was missing from Scream 6 , which released in March 2023. Campbell was also absent from the film after salary disputes led to her exit. Although Cox appeared in the sixth movie, her fate was left up in the air after facing her own Ghostface attack.

Along with Cox, Campbell will make her big return in Scream 7 after the stars of the 5th and 6th installment, Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega , parted ways with the project. Kevin Williamson , who penned the original script, will return to direct. Bringing back the core creatives is something that has Arquette wishing he could jump back into the fold.

“I mean I love working with Neve and Courtney . And just being able to play Dewey in any way,” he said. “I love that Kevin Williamson's directing. I think it's really going to be special that he’s a part of it. I think he's gonna bring a lot of depth to it and make sure this group is really multidimensional.”

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For now, Arquette is focused on a different type of film. He goes from lovable to loser in The Good Half as Rick, a narcissistic stepfather who sends Nick Jonas' character spiraling after the loss of his mother, Lily ( Elisabeth Shue ). Despite the duo’s uncomfortable — and at times hilarious — tension, Arquette is proud of being a part of project that explores every facet of a universal experience: grief.

“I get so emotional talking about this movie because it’s so personal and sort of my experience of losing people,” he told Us . “But I hope [people]  can go see it with their brothers and sisters, with family members,  and they can think about the good times. Because that's really what it's about. That time you had to spend with those people that you love so deeply. There's a lot of stuff you go through in the process of losing someone that is so difficult. But if you can hold onto those really special moments, I think that's what this film's all about.”

The Good Half is in theaters nationwide July 23 and 25, with tickets available via FathomEvents.com .