Scream Creator Hopes New Sequel Will Bring Back Neve Campbell, "Pay Her the Money"

Neve Campbell didn't return as Sidney Prescott in Scream VI due to what she believed was an unfair salary offer.

By Charlie Ridgely

Scream VI, which hit theaters earlier this year and set new box office records for the franchise, was the first film in the acclaimed slasher series not to feature Neve Campbell has horror icon Sidney Prescott. Campbell opted not to return for the sixth installment because she didn't feel her salary fairly represented what she's brought to the franchise. She called it a "very difficult decision" to move on from the character after playing her since 1996. Longtime franchise screenwriter and co-creator Kevin Williamson thinks the mistake of letting Campbell walk away should be rectified with the next installment.

Paramount is moving forward with Scream 7, and Williamson believes it's time for Campbell to get paid what she feels she deserves so she can reprise her role as Sidney Prescott. 

"I totally respect her opinion," Williamson said on the Happy Horror Time podcast. "I know exactly where she's coming from, I know her well. I love and adore her and that's what she did. It's right for her. I love everyone involved in Scream and all I can say is, pay her the money. That's what I would do, I would give her the money."

"I'm sure there's a number they can agree on that will make them both happy so hopefully one day they will figure that all out," he added.

Scream 7 Lands New Director

The new Scream is officially on the way, but it will arrive with the second-ever changing of the guard for the franchise. Wes Craven directed the first four Scream films but sadly passed away in 2015. The duo of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett took over for the fifth and sixth installments, leading to the franchise's biggest theatrical returns. Now that the Radio Silence duo is working on a monster movie for Universal, the torch has been passed to the man that many have always thought a perfect fit for Scream.

Scream 7 will be directed by Christopher Landon, who cut his teeth with the Paranormal Activity franchise before going to write and direct both Happy Death Day films and the 2020 body-swap slasher Freaky. Landon's ability to seamlessly combine slasher and comedy elements in his films have long reminded fans of Williamson and Craven's work in the Scream franchise. Now the director has a chance to bring those talents to the series that has clearly been a massive influence for him.

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"It came out of the blue for me," Landon told SiriusXM's The Jess Cagle Show, referring to the Scream 7 job. "My understanding is that there were conversations happening for some time. But I think it was just an opportunity that really arose because the other directors who did the last two films, Tyler and Matt, they wanted to do something else. They were ready to kind of do something different. That's when they obviously had to find someone new, and I've known Kevin Williamson, who wrote the original film, for a long, long time and he's a friend. I think he threw my name into the hat and everybody kind of said, 'Yeah, that makes sense. That seems to make sense.' And I was just thrilled that I got that call because it felt very, it felt like kismet, it felt like a thing that like was always meant to be."

Scream 7 doesn't currently have a release date.

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