The big news about “Scream VI,” if you’re maybe paying half attention to the franchise, is that Neve Campbell is no longer part of the series, at least not this sixth iteration, and she apparently misses it.
“We were together over the weekend at a convention,” Skeet Ulrich, another former “Scream” alumni, told People this week. “She loves it; she loves what we’ve done. There were just business things as a businesswoman that are important to her, and we all stand behind her.”
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Campbell previously said her decision not to return to the franchise was “truly” just “negotiation” related,” aka, they lowballed her an offer, she said no, and they wrote around her.
One actress they did cajole into returning instead was Hayden Panettiere from “Scream 4.” Apparently, creator Kevin Williamson coaxed her to return.
“I called up my friends at “Nashville” and said, ‘Do you guys know where Hayden Panettiere is, by chance?’ “They said, ‘Give me five minutes,’ and in five minutes, I was talking to her by phone,” Williamson said.
Williamson pitched the story to Panettiere and asked her to speak to directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, “She said, ‘Absolutely, have them call me right away,’” he says. “And that’s how it happened.”
“Scream VI” is a direct sequel to “Scream 5” and centers on that new generation in the cast, including Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, and old schooler Courteney Cox, all reprising their roles from previous installments. Also part of this edition of the franchise is Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, Josh Segarra, and Samara Weaving. The most significant other change? The setting. This “Scream” is set in the wilds of New York City.
Here’s the official synopsis:
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.
Written by James Vanderbilt & Guy Busick, “Scream VI” opens in theaters this Friday, March 10, 2023. Watch the final trailer below.
