Mark Kincaid

"I know what it's like to see ghosts that don't go away. To be watching a scary movie in your head, whether you want to or not,  watching it alone."

- Mark to Sidney Prescott.

Detective Mark Kincaid is the husband of Sidney Prescott. He was introduced as a homicide detective in Scream 3 (2000). After assigning Gale Weathers to help him investigate the Stab 3 murders following Cotton Weary and Christine Hamilton's murders, he develops an interest in Sidney, her mother and their story.

He attempts to bond and subtly flirt with Sidney Prescott amid the investigation connected to her mother's murder, something the latter his partner J. Wallace points out.

After surviving the third Ghostface killings, he joined Sidney and engaged couple Dewey Riley and Gale Weathers to watch a movie, a possible double-date. Since the epilogue of Scream 3, he has not been seen since.

He was alluded to as Sidney's husband, mentioned in the fifth film, Scream (2022 film). It was later confirmed by directors Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett.

Hollywood
"The only thing I know about trilogies is that in the third one... all bets are off."

- Kincaid answering Sid's question.

Mark made his first appearance at a seminar at a high school to see reporter, author and Ghostface killing spree survivor, Gale Weathers. He pulled her aside and explained to her that Cotton Weary had been murdered, as well as his girlfriend Christine Hamilton. The killer also left a photograph of a woman on one of the bodies. He hands it to Gale, who identifies the woman as Maureen Prescott, Sidney Prescott's mother.

He is next seen with his partner, Detective Joshua Wallace, at the studio set of Stab 3. However, he and Wallace are only seen briefly and Mark doesn't even have a line in the scene. The scene shows them exiting the studio lot, when they are asked by one of the executive managers whether Cotton's death may have been inspired by his involvement in Stab 3. His partner replies: "He was making a movie called Stab. He was stabbed."

His next appearance shows Wallace present as well, where he is at the official crime scene of another Stab 3 cast member, Sarah Darling. He informs Gale that whoever the killer is, he's killing his victims in order of how their characters die in the script for the film, Stab 3. However, there were about three different rewrites, meaning that three different characters die next, and they don't have any clue as to which script the killer has read.

He questions Roman Bridger, the director of the movie, about the death of Sarah and accuses him of calling her before Sarah's death, although Roman didn't say anything about calling her. Distraught, he and his partner take him down to the station for further questioning. They let him go when they discover that his cellular phone record is clean.

After the murders of Jennifer Jolie's bodyguard, Steven Stone, and another Stab 3 actor, Tom Prinze, Mark investigates the discovery of another photo of Maureen Prescott from nearly thirty years ago, only with this one suggesting the Ghostface responsible for the Stab 3 murders was also involved in the murder of the first Ghostface victim, Maureen.

While at the station, Sidney goes to see her old friend Deputy Dewey Riley and meets Mark for the first time. Sidney tells Mark about the fact that the killer called her. He shows her the photographs of her mother that the killer leaves behind after every murder. She asks him what he "knows about trilogies". He explains his knowledge of movie trilogies, leaving Sidney unsure if she can trust him or not.

During the final act, Mark follows Sidney to John Milton's mansion, where he quickly becomes aware of the kidnappings of Gale and Dewey and the murders of three more Stab 3 cast members, Angelina Tyler, Tyson Fox and Jennifer Jolie.

He arrives just as the killer flees, rendering Sidney suspicious of Mark. But then, the real killer appears from behind Sidney. Mark manages to push her out of the way of the knife and, as a result, is stabbed in the chest and brutally wounded. He later hands Gale and Dewey one of his guns after they are freed.

He places his other gun in his hand and navigates the area before finding Sidney and a recently murdered John Milton in a hidden theatre room where he is knocked unconscious by a surprise attack from the killer. He ultimately survives his injuries with assistance from the other remaining survivors.

In the epilogue, Mark can be seen in Sidney's home, putting on a movie to watch with her and engaged couple Gale and Dewey (a possible double-date). He does not specify the genre when she asks, telling him, "You'll have to come and see".

2011
In the fourth film, Sidney is single.

2012—2015
Sidney and Mark either reconcile or approach a serious relationship (and eventually marry). They have two daughters born between 2013 and 2015.

2019—2021
They have an additional, third known child that Sidney carries on her morning run with a pram, born between 2019 and 2021.

Despite previous hostility almost 22 years ago, Dewey asks how he is doing in the fifth film in late-2021.

Relationships
See more: Sidney-Mark relationship

Allies

 * Sidney Prescott - Wife
 * Dewey Riley † - Friend
 * Gale Weathers - Friend
 * Hollywood
 * Joshua Wallace - Partner
 * Tom Prinze † - Actor
 * Tyson Fox † - Actor
 * Sarah Darling † - Actress
 * Angelina Tyler † - Actress
 * Jennifer Jolie † - Actress

Enemies

 * Roman Bridger †
 * John Milton † - Criminal

Trivia

 * He was described as "mid-thirties. Handsome with piercing eyes" in the script.
 * Implied Love Interest trope: Many fans debated the implied romantic tension between the pairing, which was eventually revealed.
 * Dempsey was offered to reprise his role as Det. Kincaid in Scream 4, but he declined due to his commitment to Transformers: Dark of the Moon. Kincaid's character was then written out of the script.
 * The writers were planning to expand on the relationship between Mark and Sidney if they brought him back for Scream 4. However, since Patrick Dempsey didn't reprise his role as Mark, the relationship didn't go any further, and Sidney was single in Scream 4. In the fifth film, Sidney is married to him, but he and their children are unseen. Radio Silence co-directors confirmed "Mark" as Mark Kincaid six days after the fifth film's theatrical release.
 * Dempsey would later star in TV series Grey's Anatomy, which featured his Scream 3 co-star Neve Campbell in a two-episode supporting role as his character's sister. Neve Campbell recalled this role during the promotion of Scream 5 and noted it was funny given Mark Kincaid was Sidney's husband.

Appearances

 * Scream 3 (2000 film)