Jenna Ortega says Scream 6 will be so bloody that audiences will be “distracted” from Neve Campbell’s absence
Neve Campbell quit her starring role after receiving a salary offer she thought disrespected "value that I bring to this franchise."
Aux News Scream
2022 has been a killer year for horror, with breakout hits like X and Bodies Bodies Bodies introducing a whole new generation of scream queens to the roster. But as any true horror fan knows, there can only be one final girl left standing at the end, and the genre’s renaissance has proved to be no exception.
The blood-soaked arrival of actors like Mia Goth and Amandla Sternberg to the scene has coincided with some major final bows, including Jaime Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode (allegedly) and, more surprisingly, Neve Campbell’s iconic Sidney Prescott from the Scream franchise.
While watching whoever next inhabits Ghostface hack their way through Woodsboro without having to face down their decades-old nemesis may sound unappealing to fans of the tongue-in-cheek series, newly crowned Scream queen Jenna Ortega tried to assuage those fears in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight.
“I feel like I can’t really speak too much on [Campbell’s exit] just because it’s not necessarily my character,” she said. “But I will say there’s so much going on in this next one, that it’s so action-heavy and so gore-heavy that I think you’re gonna be distracted almost.”
“There’s references to Sidney, of course,” she continued. “You know, it’s nice because there’s still a protectiveness in the script and that’s something that the actors had naturally over her because obviously we respect her and we want the best for her. She’s missed and thought of.”
Campbell shocked fans this summer by announcing that she would not be returning to her iconic role in Scream 6 due to a salary dispute. “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 said. “And as a woman in this business, I think it’s really important for us to be valued and to fight to be valued.” Now that she has a little more free time on her hands, maybe Campbell will revive Sidney for a new franchise about fighting sexism in the film industry—that would make an even scarier opponent than Ghostface, in our opinion.
12 Comments
When Campbell isn’t onscreen, the other characters should be saying things like “Where’s Sidney?” and “Oh no, my organs!”
Jenna, put on a shirt. Neve, fix your hair.
K grampa
Fuck you
The idea of a slasher franchise which changes its villain, but keeps its Final Girl to get terrorized again and again and again and again by different people right into middle age sounds like something I’m glad is out there, but in practice has been a series constantly winking and nudging at me, desperately trying to convince me it isn’t depressing as fuck.
Anyway, good luck to this one without Campbell, I’m sure it’ll cost nothing and make money by default.
Angela Lansbury in her final role as Sidney Prescott
SCREAM XXXII
That’s kinda like the Die Hard movies.
Well, I know who Neve Campbell is, and I have no idea who Jenna Ortega is, so… good luck Scream franchise
I know they’re using the term properly here but I just really don’t wanna keep hearing the term “scream queen” here. The AV Club lost their privilege to use it.
Oh good it’ll be action-heavy and gore-heavy! Those are the things people want from a Scream movie that sets it apart from the generic horror movies that are always coming out!
I’m kind of fine with Sidney not being there as long as they just let her live far away from the murders. If they kill her off I’m done with this series.
It’s cool, Sidney’s living on a farm upstate with the other final girls. … Fuck. Golden Final Girls. Someone get NBC on the horn! I’ve got another boffo pitch!