Neve Campbell’s absence from Scream VI did not hurt the horror franchise in the way many believed it would, with the film doing pretty well without an appearance by Sydney Prescott. That doesn’t mean that there isn’t a way for her to return to the series in the future, as producer William Sherak believes there is always a place for Sydney in any Scream story.
The original plans for Scream VI would have seen Campbell reprising her role once again alongside fellow franchise veteran Courteney Cox, who plays Gale Weathers. However, following a reported pay dispute, Campbell decided to drop out of the latest instalment of the Wes Craven-created slasher movie series. At the time she said, I did not feel that what I was being offered equated to the value that I bring to this franchise, and have brought to this franchise, for 25 years, and as a woman in this business, I think it’s really important for us to be valued and to fight to be valued. I honestly don’t believe that if I were a man and had done five instalments of a huge blockbuster franchise over 25 years, that the number that I was offered would be the number that would be offered to a man.”
Although the success of Scream VI suggests that the franchise doesn’t necessarily need its former lead star, Sherak recently told Comicbook.com that there will always be a place for Campbell’s Sydney in any story within the Scream universe. He said:
“Yes, and I think a Scream movie can always have Sidney Prescott in it. When that information came to us, you don’t look at it the way you’re thinking. It’s much more, ‘This is the story we were telling.’ Sidney can fit into any Scream movie, she’s Sidney Prescott. And that just wasn’t in the cards we were able to play with. So we got to tell this amazing story and the guys crafted it brilliantly. But if Sidney Prescott’s in a Scream movie, Sidney Prescott fits that Scream movie. We have that luxury. We have the luxury of a character you can always make work in this franchise.”
Will Scream 7 Be Coming in the Near Future?
While Scream VI was done on a quick turnaround based on the success of 2022’s Scream, there has been no word yet as to whether a seventh movie is in the works or not. Scream VI director’s Radio Silence have already set their next movie, suggesting that if Scream 7 was to be green-lit and wanted to stick with its same team, then there might be a little wait before that could happen.
In many ways, a short hiatus between movies could be good for the franchise, as churning out an annual stream of movies has often led to the death of many horror IPs, or at least brought about a “diminishing returns” scenario in both box office numbers and review scores. With Scream and Scream VI both bringing something new to the story, having a little breather before continuing with more is likely the best way for the franchise to secure its popularity for a little longer.
This story originally appeared on Movieweb
