Scream VI Director Admits Neve Campbell Exit Impacted Script "Greatly"

Longtime franchise star Neve Campbell announced relatively early on in the development process that she was walking away from Scream VI as she felt she wasn't going to be compensated fairly, sparking speculation about what sort of involvement her Sidney Prescott was expected to have in the sequel, with co-director Tyler Gillett admitting that it impacted the script "greatly." Fans might never know what the original plan was for the character, as her impact on the long-running franchise means she couldn't easily be replaced by another figure, though Gillett noted it wasn't an entirely disappointing correction to the story. Scream VI lands in theaters on March 10, 2023.

"We love Neve, and we're huge fans of Sidney Prescott," Gillett confirmed to Entertainment Weekly. "But it felt like there's an opportunity to really dig into this new crop of characters, and I think people will be really surprised and pleased with how successfully this movie does that. This movie's been in our lives now for quite a while, but I think that we are still consistently surprised by how rich and how interesting and deep the relationship is between the four of them in this movie."

The upcoming sequel will mark the first entry into the series that won't feature Sidney, making Courteney Cox's Gale Weathers the only character to appear in all six films. Despite the absence of Sidney, Scream VI will be bringing back a beloved character by featuring Hayden Panettiere's Kirby, who was seemingly killed in Scream 4 yet was confirmed to have survived in this year's Scream.

"She was wonderful. She was really great," Gillett expressed. "It was fun to have her around to tell us about Scream 4. She had a lot of great stories she got to share. It's that Scream family; it's continuing to grow for us."

The new film is described, "Following the latest Ghostface killings, the four survivors leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter. In Scream VI, Melissa Barrera ('Sam Carpenter'), Jasmin Savoy Brown ('Mindy Meeks-Martin'), Mason Gooding ('Chad Meeks-Martin'), Jenna Ortega ('Tara Carpenter'), Hayden Panettiere ('Kirby Reed'), and Courteney Cox ('Gale Weathers') return to their roles in the franchise alongside Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, Josh Segarra, and Samara Weaving."

Scream VI lands in theaters on March 10, 2023.

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