Courteney Cox hopes David Arquette's character will appear in Scream 7

Courteney Cox hopes her co-star and ex-husband David Arquette is given a reason to return to the Scream franchise - despite his character being killed off.

The former couple played on-off love interests Gale Weathers and Dewey Riley in the first five Scream films until the retired police officer was brutally murdered by the masked Ghostface killer.

Cox, who returned as Gale in the sixth Scream, hopes the filmmakers can find a way to bring Dewey back for the seventh instalment.

"I understand the reasons they did it, but whoa! Talk about a missed character," Cox told Variety. "Dewey is so loved by Scream fans. They have to figure it out."

While her character narrowly survived Scream VI, the Friends star has yet to sign on for the next chapter.

"I'm not officially signed on. I'm not, but there will be a Scream 7," she stated. "They're rewriting all the time. It's not like I don't know what's going on."

However, she indicated that she wants to be involved in the next slasher film because it will mark Scream writer Kevin Williamson's first time directing a movie in the horror franchise.

Noting that she was "excited" by Williamson's new role, she added, "You can't get better than that choice. It's going to be fun."

If she does sign on, Cox will once again star alongside Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott. Campbell sat out of Scream VI due to a pay dispute but announced her return for Scream 7 in March.

Melissa Barrera, who led the fifth and sixth films, was let go from the franchise over controversial social media posts, while Jenna Ortega, her on-screen sister, dropped out due to scheduling conflicts with her TV show Wednesday. It is currently not known if any of their co-stars - or any other legacy characters - will return for Scream 7.