McHale’s Mark was in, and Dempsey’s other Mark was out as Sidney’s husband.

Joel McHale confirms he replaced Patrick Dempsey after Scream 7 began filming: ‘Thank you, Patrick’

McHale's Mark was in, and Dempsey's other Mark was out as Sidney's husband.

By Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence

Derek Lawrence is a former associate editor at **. He left EW in 2022.

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June 22, 2026 12:27 p.m. ET

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Patrick Dempsey in 'Scream 3'; Joel McHale in 'Scream 7'. Credit:

Dimension Films; Jessica Miglio

- Joel McHale confirms that he replaced Patrick Dempsey in *Scream 7*.

- McHale and Dempsey's characters are both Mark but have different last names.

- McHale says that Dempsey's nameplate was still on his chair when the *Community* alum arrived on set.

The *Scream* team didn't even hide from Joel McHale the fact that he was replacing Patrick Dempsey.

Dempsey previously confirmed that he was in talks to reprise his *Scream 3* role of Detective Mark Kincaid in *Scream 7*, only for McHale to eventually play Chief Mark Evans, a different cop that Sidney (Neve Campbell) is married to. McHale is now revealing that he did indeed step in for Dempsey, receiving the call as the sequel was filming.

“Patrick Dempsey played the husband in [*Scream 3*], and he was supposed to play this one," McHale said on a recent episode of *Inside of You With Michael Rosenbaum*. "And I don’t know how it went down. I don’t know if it was schedule or money. Patrick, please forgive me if I’m f---ing this up. But I get there, and his nameplate is on my chair. I tried to keep it, they wouldn’t let me."

Neve Campbell and Joel McHale in 'Scream 7'.

Jessica Miglio/Paramount Pictures

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In 2000's *Scream 3*, Dempsey starred as Mark Kincaid, a Los Angeles detective who becomes close to Sidney as he investigates the latest Ghostface killings. In 2022's *Scream*, when Sidney is called to be notified about Ghostface returning to Woodsboro, she references her husband Mark, leading fans to assume that she ended up with Kincaid.

"I'm waiting on the script," Dempsey said in 2024 of returning for *Scream 7*. "There has been a conversation about it. I haven't seen anything, so we'll see what happens."'

A few months later, McHale was cast as Mark Evans, the chief of police in Sidney's new town, Pine Grove. Sidney and *this* Mark share a teen daughter, Tatum (Isabel May), who follows the family tradition of being a Ghostface target.

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"They were already shooting, and I was thrilled," McHale said of receiving the call. "I couldn't believe I was there. I would have paid for this.... They offered it, and they needed me there the next day."

On top of the nameplate evidence, McHale shared that he was so obviously replacing Dempsey because he was given an expensive watch to wear in the film, because it had been part of a Dempsey sponsorship deal.

After the thrilling gig in the biggest *Scream* hit yet, plus the opportunity to continue since Mark Evans somehow survived *Scream 7*, McHale has a message for the *Grey's Anatomy* star: "Thank you, Patrick."

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