Neve Campbell Was Really Disappointed By One Major Scream Death
Original "Scream" franchise star Neve Campbell isn't afraid to speak her mind regarding the death of a major character in "Scream 6."
Campbell, of course, played Sidney Prescott in the first five "Scream" films alongside fellow leads Courteney Cox's reporter Gale Weathers and David Arquette's Deputy Sheriff Dewey Riley. Unfortunately, Campbell's legacy character didn't return for "Scream 6" because of a pay dispute, and ultimately, she wasn't involved in the story that included the unexpected death of Arquette's beloved character.
According to People, Campbell revealed her thoughts about "Scream 6" during a recent panel appearance at Monster Mania Con in Philadelphia, which included her disappointment over the filmmakers' decision to kill off Dewey in the film.
"I thought it was tragic and I don't usually like to criticize the writing in these projects. But I was really disappointed in their choice to get rid of David [Arquette]," Campbell said during her Monster Mania panel. "Dewey's such a wonderful character, and I think we were all in love with him and I think we all felt pretty sad about that. Which of course is the reason they do it because it has more impact, but now I miss him. I want to see more of him."
Could Campbell return for Scream 7?
Naturally because of the box office success of "Scream 6" — which earned nearly $169 million at the worldwide against a $35 million budget — the franchise will continue on with "Scream 7," even though the production is in an unexpected state of flux after the departure of its two leads. On November 21, Spyglass Entertainment, the production company behind "Scream 7," fired Melissa Barrera over her controversial comments about the Israel-Hamas War, which was quickly followed by Jenna Ortega exiting the film to work on "Wednesday" Season 2.
As such, the filmmakers behind "Scream 7" will have to get creative for the upcoming installment of the hit slasher franchise. As things stand, Courteney Cox's Gale Weathers is the only legacy character that could be a part of the seventh film since David Arquette's Dewey Riley died in "Scream 6."
Of course, the film series could conceivably bring back Sidney Prescott into the fold should Spyglass Entertainment and studio Paramount Pictures realize the value Neve Campbell brings to the iconic franchise. Campbell had a brutally honest explanation for turning down "Scream 6" in 2022, telling People, "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." Further explaining that she believed the amount she was offered to reprise Sidney was due to gender bias, Campbell added, "I couldn't walk on set feeling that — feeling undervalued and feeling the unfairness, or lack of fairness, around that."