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Writer and creator Kevin Williamson’s long-running Valentine to the horror and slasher genre Scream has built an entire franchise around shocking loyal fans of the self-referential series: That opening scene in Wes Craven’s 1996 original stab at the vaunted box-office champ where A-List actress Drew Barrymore is unceremoniously dispatched; pretty shocking stuff. The quick and brutal takedown of audience and fan surrogate Jamie Kennedy in 1997’s Scream 2; absolutely heart-wrenching. Or how about this year’s Scream 5’s kick to the gut in the form of David Arquette’s loveable law enforcement officer getting the Ginsu knives treatment from a possum-playing Ghostface; color me emotionally drained and exhausted. Yet as jaw-dropping as all of those kills were, none of them were quite as unexpected as yesterday’s bombshell news from our The Crying Game fans over at The Hollywood Reporter that the Scream franchise’s leading star in all five films, Neve Campbell, has walked away from a significant role already written for her character in the upcoming Scream 6.
Word came into our esteemed Vents headquarters late yesterday of yet another wrinkle in the unfolding drama which is the highly anticipated Scream 6: Actress Neve Campbell (Wild Things, Mad Men, 54) has officially walked away from the new film which is scheduled to begin filming in a matter of weeks. The issue at hand, while shocking, is not surprising to anyone who knows the Hollywood game well. Apparently it wasn’t Ghostface which signaled the end of Campbell’s tenure in the tiny and bloody burg of Woodsboro, but rather a matter of what the actress was being offered money-wise to reprise her legendary role as Final Girl Sidney Prescott.
In a statement, Campbell said that “Sadly, I won’t be making the next Scream film. 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…It’s been a very difficult decision to move on. To all my Scream fans, I love you. You’ve always been so incredibly supportive of me. I’m forever grateful to you and to what this franchise has given me over the past twenty-five years.”
Although this news strikes some hardcore Scream fans as nigh calamitous, there is a silver lining to keep your respective peepers on: One of the original Final Girls, Jamie Lee Curtis, took a super-long sabbatical from the film which hugely inspired the Scream series of films, Halloween. From 1982 until 1998, the John Carpenter/Debra Hill-created Halloween series soldiered on sans Curtis, who by that time had moved onto the green clover of major productions such as Trading Places and A Fish Called Wanda. Fans despaired of ever seeing Curtis step back into the penny loafers of Laurie Strode until Halloween H20 landed on the scene in 1998. Since Campbell’s Sidney Prescott made it out of the fifth installment of the Scream franchise, there’s every reason to hold onto hope that – with enough time and distance – she may yet return to the world of Scream. When that hallowed time finally does happen, a word of advice to our Hollywood brethren: Adequately and fairly pay Neve Campbell; we’d venture a guess that she’s more than earned a few extra dollars for her efforts.
Scream 6 is still expected to premiere March 31, 2023. Keep your eyes and ears tuned into Vents for any and all updates on The House That Uncle’s Wes and Kevin Built!
