Actress and scream queen Neve Campbell is opening up exclusively to People about why she opted not to return for Scream 6, and if she'd ever return for future installments.
via People:
In an exclusive chat with PEOPLE surrounding her new campaign video for the American Red Cross, the actress says her choice not to sign on to reprise her role as final girl Sidney Prescott for Scream 6 was “truly” just “negotiation” related. “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,” she tells PEOPLE.
“And as a woman in this business, I think it’s really important for us to be valued and to fight to be valued,” continues Campbell, 48. “I honestly don’t believe that if I were a man and had done five installments of a huge blockbuster franchise over 25 years, that the number that I was offered would be the number that would be offered to a man.”
“And in my soul, I just couldn’t do that,” she adds. “I couldn’t walk on set feeling that — feeling undervalued and feeling the unfairness, or lack of fairness, around that.”
Campbell has appeared as Sidney in all five films since the first, directed by Wes Craven, hit theaters in December 1996. She played a large part in each installment all the way through this year’s Scream, which was released in January.
“Sadly I won’t be making the next Scream film,” she said in a June 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.”
“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,” Campbell added.
The actress maintains that “it was sad” for her to not return, telling PEOPLE, “I love these movies. I love Sidney. I love this franchise I’m so grateful for it.”
“But at the same time, I really just couldn’t bear the idea of walking onto [the sixth film] and feeling undervalued,” she notes.
People also asked Campbell if she'd consider returning to future Scream films.
"I don't know that I'm done for good," the actress tells PEOPLE in a chat surrounding her partnership with the American Red Cross. "It would really depend on what they came to me with next. It would have to be different. It would have to be a different attitude, and I'm not sure that's going to happen."
Neve has proven to be a powerhouse when it comes to the Scream films, and it's unfortunate that the studio, that has financially benefited wholeheartedly from the films (as well as the loyal Scream fanbase) refuse to see how crucial Neve is to the franchise.
There are rumors circulating that Neve has secretly filmed a cameo in Scream 6 that will kick of a story arc for Scream 7 (a la Jamie Lee Curtis' alternate ending scene where she told Michael Myers over the phone to come and get her. But since Halloween Ends takes place four years later after the events of Halloween Kills, the ending was scrapped)
I really hope producers of the Scream films will come to their senses and get Neve back in the Scream films.