Scream Stars Share Support for Neve Campbell After Confirming She's Exiting Franchise
Longtime star of the Scream franchise Neve Campbell confirmed earlier this week that she would not be appearing in the upcoming Scream 6, citing that she didn't feel she would be appropriately compensated for her time on the project. Fans were understandably disappointed that Sidney Prescott wouldn't be returning to confront Ghostface in the new film, with her former costars in the series Matthew Lillard and Jamie Kennedy expressing their support of Campbell's decision and praising her contributions to the series, including this year's Scream. The waves of support she's receiving could potentially see her offer be renegotiated, so it's hard to say she's truly done with the franchise for good. Scream 6 is set to hit theaters on March 31, 2023.
"Did Tom Cruise take less money from Top Gun Maverick? F-ck no dude. So why is a woman supposed to take less? Why wouldn't you pay her more as the series goes on?" Lillard shared with the Midnite Movie Club podcast on Twitter. "And was Scream 5 a hit or not a hit? It was a smash hit. Did they make a sh-t ton of money? Yes. Should Neve Campbell be paid for the work she's done in five movies of a franchise? Yes, because she's a female lead of one of the most successful horror franchises."
Over on his YouTube channel, Kennedy claimed to have seen the script for Scream 6 and that Sidney "played a heavy part" in the upcoming adventure. If true, Campbell's departure could pose some challenges for the upcoming installment.
"It's the new people behind the scenes who are literally not paying the face of the franchise," the actor recalled. "It's from the people who weren't involved from the get-go."
While fans might be sad to see Campbell leave the series, this week also saw the confirmation that Courteney Cox would be returning to the series as Gale Weathers. This year's Scream saw both Campbell and Cox's characters be featured more as supporting figures, despite being prominent figures in the first four films. Stars of this year's sequel Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding, and Jasmin Savoy Brown are all confirmed to return to the series, as is Scream 4's Hayden Panettiere. In this regard, it's unclear how significant Sidney was set to be in the new project, or how large of a role Gale will play in the sixth installment.
Scream 6 is currently slated to hit theaters on March 31, 2023.
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