Image Source: Getty / Paul Archuleta
Ghostface just can’t seem to stay away. On Feb. 3, Deadline confirmed that the sixth installment of the cult-classic franchise Scream is underway, with directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett set to return, along with a host of familiar faces. However, some staples of the franchise won’t be back for more.
On June 6, Deadline reported that Neve Campbell, who appeared in all five previous Scream films as Sidney Prescott, will not be returning for “Scream 6.” “Sadly I won’t be making the next Scream film,” she said, per Deadline, citing salary issues. “As a woman, I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Scream,” she continued. “I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise. 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.”
Still, some major stars are set to come back. On May 11, The Hollywood Reporter revealed that Hayden Panettiere, who was one of the stars of 2011’s “Scream 4,” is confirmed to return as her character Kirby Reed. Back in 2011, she played a horror-obsessed high school student who narrowly managed to evade Ghostface once, and it looks like she’ll have to face him again in the forthcoming installment.
The film will also see the return of the principal cast from this year’s fifth “Scream,” which includes Mason Gooding (Chad), Jenna Ortega (Tara), Melissa Barrera (Sam), and Jasmin Savoy Brown (Mindy). The forthcoming movie will follow the cast as they attempt to start over in a new town far away from nightmarish Woodsboro, but of course, that’s not likely to go as planned.
“Working with such a wonderful and talented family of creators – and in the lineage Wes [Craven] and Kevin [Williamson] so expertly built – has been the thrill of a lifetime and we’re so excited to bring the next chapter in the Scream saga to life,” Bettinelli-Olpin, Gillett, and producer Chad Villella told Deadline in a statement. Writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick added, “Is this real life? Getting to collaborate once again with our friends on the next installment of the Scream story is more than we could have hoped for. We are overwhelmed that we get to continue to play in the sandbox that Kevin and Wes created. It is, as Ghostface would say, an honor.”
On March 18, Deadline reported that the sequel’s premiere date has been set for March 31, 2023. The news comes after “Scream 5″‘s big box-office success in January. Vanderbilt and Busick will return to cowrite “Scream 6,” with Vanderbilt, Paul Neinstein, and William Sherak producing the film. Villella, Gary Barber, Peter Oillataguerre, and Scream creator Kevin Williamson will serve as executive producers.
The latest Scream film to hit the big screen brought back franchise stars Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and more, and introduced the new group of teens who will return for “Scream 6.” Stay tuned for more announcements about the next sequel.