The Scream franchise has lost a lot of blood in recent months but the beloved star who played Sidney Prescott in five films over 25 years isn’t ruling out a return.
The Hollywood Reporter caught up with Neve Campbell on Saturday afternoon at the BAFTA Tea Party in Beverly Hills, where she offered up a “we’ll see” to whether she would reprise her franchise leading role in the near future. The next installment, which is currently in the works, has been in peril since November when Melissa Barrera was fired over social media posts regarding the conflict in the Middle East between Israel and Hamas. Days later, it was revealed that her co-star, Jenna Ortega, had also exited the next film. Then a month after that, director Christopher Landon parted ways on the project, going so far as to say that his “dream job turned into a nightmare.”
Campbell has clearly seen the headlines. “I know things are spinning at the moment and I would imagine they are spinning at the top trying to figure out what they’re going to do. I would not be surprised to get a call,” she revealed. “But at the same time, I made a strong statement a few years ago, which is I did not believe that the way that I was treated would’ve happened if I had been a male and that I deserve a certain thing for having carried this franchise for as long as I have.”
The veteran star was referring to a highly publicized exit in June 2022 over a dispute over pay. “Sadly, I won’t be making the next Scream film,” per that statement. “As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Scream. I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.”
Looking back on that decision now, Campbell said she took a stand “not in an egotistical way” but as a way to fight for what she believes is right. “We have to stand up for women in this business and know what we’re worth. That hasn’t changed for me,” she continued on Saturday. “So, if they were to come back to me, it would have to be with a respectful offer that I felt was in keeping with what I bring to this franchise.”
Which leads back to the original question, and Campbell repeated it herself. “Would I do it? There are millions of fans out there of this franchise. These movies mean a lot to people. They mean a lot to me. They mean a lot to [Kevin Williamson]. They meant a lot to [Wes Craven]. They meant a lot to all of these cast members, and we would all love to see this franchise continue. I would hate to see it burn. So we’ll see.”
Speaking of Williamson, who created the series, he has said he would love to see Campbell step back into Sidney’s shoes. “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 said during a podcast appearance on Happy Horror Time last fall.
When the news broke that Campbell had exited the franchise, it went viral on Twitter (now X), something Campbell said was a new experience for her. “I had a friend text me and say, ‘You’re trending right now.’ I’ve never been on Twitter. I didn’t know what it meant. She was like, ‘Let me explain.’ She said, ‘You are so loved. People are so passionate about you in these films and people are fighting for you. People want the studio to do right by you.’ That meant so much to me,” she told THR. “Even the fact that it caused a stir, not anti-studio in any way, just that it caused people to stand up and think, maybe they could stand up for themselves in some way, that meant a lot and continues to mean a lot.”
Campbell attended Saturday’s star-packed BAFTA Tea Party with her friend of 30 years, Emmy winning multi-hyphenate Michael A. Goorjian, whom she met during their days on Party of Five. Goorjian and Campbell were making the rounds to celebrate the good news that his film Amerikatsi had been shortlisted for an Oscar as an international feature from Armenia.
Michael A. Goorjian and Neve Campbell at the BAFTA Tea Party at the Maybourne Hotel in Beverly Hills on Jan. 13, 2024.
Alberto E. Rodriguez/Getty Images for BAFTA
Goorjian told THR that when he heard that his film snagged a spot on the shortlist, he happened to be in Campbell’s kitchen. (Goorjian is living with Campbell at the moment and he’s the godfather of her children with husband JJ Feild.) “I started screaming and she was upstairs,” he recalled. “In film and TV, you meet so many people and work with so many different people. It’s like going to summer camp and you always say, ‘Oh yeah, we’ll stay in touch,’ and you never do. Nev is pretty much one of the only people in the industry that I’ve really stayed close with. It’s a rare thing.”
Campbell said she knew it was special when they met on Party of Five. “I mean, I loved Michael. I just thought he had an amazing brain and an amazing mind. He had a creative spirit and he’s really kind. He’s from Oakland and he’s really cool. We hung out a lot on Party of Five. If I was hanging out with anyone, it was usually the two of us in each other’s trailers just kicking it.”
Goorjian wrote, directed and stars in Amerikatsi playing Armenian-American repatriate Charlie Bakhchinyan. The story follows his journey after being arrested for the crime of wearing a tie in Soviet Armenia. Alone in solitary confinement, he discovers that he can see inside of an apartment building near the prison from his cell window, leading to a personal discovery of why he returned home in the first place.
“I’ve been working on this film for five years,” Goorjian explained. “We shot during the COVID-19 pandemic, so it was pretty crazy. There were a lot of obstacles to finish, but eventually, when we premiered it for an American audience, I saw the reactions and thought that maybe it worked.”
Campbell also helped along the way, offering feedback. Goorjian said he even remixed the sound of one section based on her notes. “When you’ve been in the business long enough, you have a sense of things,” she concluded. “Michael came to both JJ and I a lot, and we would watch different cuts and give thoughts because it’s always helpful. A truly wonderful director is open to other minds. I worked with Robert Altman years ago, and what was so magical about him is he truly believed that many minds is much better than just his. If you have a lot of creative opinion and you’re open, it’s really helpful. [Michael] is so talented, he really knows what he is doing, but he’s also really open to creative thoughts, which is great.”