“What’s your favorite scary movie?” Well, if Ghostface ever asked me that question, I would truthfully answer Scream out of the list of many great horror movies out there. So, I was very excited to wake up this morning to the new Scream VI trailer, which from what I saw I can already tell this movie will join the list of great horror films from 2023.
This trailer gives us more than the teaser gave us that came out a month ago. The trailer is a little over two minutes, including everyone from Wednesday’s Jenna Ortega to Melissa Barrera and Jasmin Savoy Brown, and they’ve even brought back Courteney Cox and Hayden Panettiere to play their characters from previous Scream movies. Though, there is one familiar face that I didn’t see in the trailer… iconic final girl herself, Neve Campbell, who played the central character Sidney Prescott in five Scream movies, including 2022’s Scream. Well, believe it or not, Campbell will not be in the upcoming film — and you may be surprised to find out the reason why.
When the trailer dropped, it served as a reminder of Campbell’s exit for many fans of the franchise, and sent Twitter in a frenzy. Sidney Prescott’s name name even trended on the site.
In 2022, the franchise released its fifth installment, Scream, bringing the movies back for a new generation. In the fifth movie, Campbell reprised the role of Sidney to help the new characters when Ghostface returned. Campbell was asked back again for Scream VI, but this time, things were different.
Campbell stood up for herself by requesting a salary that she rightfully deserves, as her character was the focal point of the franchise for years. The studio was unable to make it happen, however, so Campbell decided that Scream (2022) was her last film in the franchise. Campbell told Forbes in August 2022, “I love the franchise. I love the movies. I loved these new directors and the cast, so it was a difficult decision to make but I felt for myself that it was the right one.” Campbell’s salary for the Scream movies isn’t publicly available information, according to Cosmopolitan.
Further diving into Campbell’s exit from the franchise, she did an interview with People in August 2022, saying, “As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Scream. I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.” She continued by saying a formal goodbye to the fans: “To all my Scream fans, I love you. You’ve always been so incredibly supportive to me. I’m forever grateful to you and to what this franchise has given me over the past 25 years.”
The initial reaction from fans included confusion, anger, and hope that maybe things would change before the filming of the movie. Sadly, that wasn’t the case, but fans understood and many took Campbell’s side, saying she basically built the franchise up as her character is a symbol of strength for many. Even her past co-star, Jamie Kennedy came to Campbell’s defense on his YouTube channel, saying, “I cannot imagine Scream without Sidney Prescott.”
Now that the new trailer is out and this is the final confirmation that Campbell is no longer part of the franchise, it is a little heartbreaking. Twitter has had much to say about it this morning when the trailer dropped. Campbell even responded to all the love through her friend Tara Strong’s Twitter account by saying she is touched by the response fans have had about her not being in the upcoming movie.
I still have faith in the continuation of the movies as they still have many great actors, though it won’t be the same.