Knowing her worth. More than two decades after bringing the OG final girl to life, Neve Campbell shocked Scream fans when she announced her departure from the franchise.
“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,” Campbell, who portrayed Sidney Prescott, told Us Weekly in a statement in June 2022.
The actress added: “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 to me. I’m forever grateful to you and to what this franchise has given me over the past 25 years.”
Ahead of her exit, Campbell starred in the slasher series from 1996 to 2011 alongside Courteney Cox and David Arquette. The Panic star previously revealed that she wasn’t initially onboard with returning for the fifth installment alongside her costars.
“They’ve come to me and we’re having conversations,” Campbell said in an interview with YouTuber Jake Hamilton in May 2020. “It’s a little hard at the moment because of COVID to know when that’ll happen. Hopefully, we can see eye to eye on all of the elements that have to come into place for it to happen.”
After reprising her role for Scream 5, the Saturn Award winner recalled the single request she had for Sidney’s story line.
“I think it is important [that she never becomes a victim in these movies],” Campbell told The Hollywood Reporter in January 2022. “She does represent a certain amount of strength and lack of victimhood, and that means a great deal to people. I’ve had a lot of people come up to me in the past and just say that she inspired them in some way or helped them in their lives in some way, which is not what you normally expect when you’re performing in a horror film. I certainly would hate to see Sidney fall. I think it would be the wrong message.”
In response to Campbell’s decision to move on, Arquette weighed in on the future of the Scream franchise. “I’d love for her to be a part of it. A Scream movie without Sidney is kind of unfortunate, but I understand her decision,” the Virginia native, whose character Dewey Riley was killed off in Scream 5, told ComicBook in June 2022. “It’s all a business in a way, they have to balance all these elements to fit a budget and produce a film. I get it, she’s still alive! She [can] absolutely be in future ones, but I think it’s up to fans to call for that in the future. I respect her decision, for sure.”
Scroll down for Campbell’s insight on the Scream franchise ahead of her departure:
