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The Scream film franchise has continued slaying at the box office with this year's fifth installment of the slasher movie in which Skeet Ulrich, Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Neve Campbell reprised their roles from the 1996 original that started it all.
It was hardly surprising then when a sixth installment was announced.
However, fans were disappointed to discover Campbell's character Sidney Prescott–whom the films centered on–would not be returning to Woodsboro.
\u201cNeve Campbell says she is not returning for \u2018SCREAM 6\u2019 because \u201cI felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.\u201d\n\n\u201cIt\u2019s been a very difficult decision to move on. To all my Scream fans, I love you.\u201d\u201d— DiscussingFilm (@DiscussingFilm) 1654535435
Campbell, who is an equal pay advocate, explained the reason why she rejected Scream 6 in a statement to Variety.
“Sadly, I won’t be making the next Screamfilm,” she said, adding:
“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. It’s been a very difficult decision to move on."
Scream fans were gutted over the news.
\u201c@TheScreamSeries @DEADLINE If she doesn't return to the franchise and they keep making them then Scream 5 and any thereafter won't be canon to me. The Character of Sidney Fuking Prescott deserves a proper standoff and not to just be mentioned in passing like a ghost of Woodsboro past.\u201d— SCREAM (@SCREAM) 1654535835
\u201c@TheScreamSeries Sidney is an icon and one of my favorite final girls ever, It will flop without her\u201d— SCREAM (@SCREAM) 1654535835
\u201c@TheScreamSeries @DEADLINE Isn\u2019t the scream movies all about Sidney!? What\u2019s the point of making them without her? I mean it\u2019s literally about Sidney and her mother! \ud83e\udd26\u200d\u2642\ufe0f\u201d— SCREAM (@SCREAM) 1654535835
\u201cIf I was in charge of the Scream franchise I would simply pay Neve Campbell over what she\u2019s worth\u201d— Viggie Smalls (@Viggie Smalls) 1654600170
Other hardcore Scream fans felt Sydney Prescott's permanent exit from Woodsboro made sense.
\u201c@TheScreamSeries @DEADLINE Anyone actively trying to get Sidney drawn back into another murder spree doesn\u2019t like or respect the character. Her arc has been completed plus extra servings. Let Sid leave the door unlocked forever, let the ghost haunt somebody else #Scream6\u201d— SCREAM (@SCREAM) 1654535835
\u201c@TheScreamSeries @DEADLINE On one hand, it hurts, but on the other hand, at least we can rest comfortably knowing that she gave us 5 awesome movies with the best final girl of all time.\u201d— SCREAM (@SCREAM) 1654535835
\u201c@TheScreamSeries @DEADLINE \ud83d\ude1f #NeveCampbell will be missed! But I know now there\u2019s room to have new characters become a huge part of the franchise and continue the legacy of #Scream\u201d— SCREAM (@SCREAM) 1654535835
A prediction for the meta-thriller was made.
\u201c@TheScreamSeries @DEADLINE Nice one. I don't believe it for a second though. Hear me out and you can screenshot this. Sidney in a ghostface mask, final reveal, cliffhanger ending, she's holding the voice changer like a badass. She's going after the final killer, there will be Scream 3/7.\u201d— SCREAM (@SCREAM) 1654535835
The actress spoke candidly about the systemic, unfair compensation of leading actresses in Hollywood in a conversation with legendary scream queen, Jamie Lee Curtis.
“The truth of the matter is, I didn’t really make much money off of the horror movies," said Curtis, who is famous for playing Michael Myers' perpetually targeted victim, Laurie Strode, in the Halloween horror franchise.
She and Campbell discussed how mediocre their salaries on their respective horror films were and that there was no back-end deal which cut them out of film's profits.
"There’s always the promise of back end," added Campbell.
"And then, of course, it’s drowned in publicity and costs and all the reasons they say, ‘Oh, actually no, we didn’t make the amount of money that we’re claiming we made in all the press, so that we don’t have to give you that,’ unfortunately."
In her statement to Variety, Campbell addressed fans lamenting her absence in the upcoming sequel.
"To all my Scream fans, I love you," she said.
"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.”
The yet-to-be-titled Scream6 is scheduled to start production this summer and is slated for a March 31, 2023 release.