Neve Campbell opens up about ‘Scream’ franchise future: “I imagine the people at the top are spinning”
Neve Campbell has opened up about the Scream franchise amid recent news that several cast members and the director departed the upcoming film in the long-running series.
Back in December, Scream 7‘s director Christopher Landon confirmed he left work on the project. The Happy Death Day director was announced to be helming the seventh instalment in August, which would have marked his debut in the Scream franchise. He was supposed to take over from from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who directed 2022’s Scream 5 and this year’s Scream VI and were set to serve as executive producers on the next film.
“I guess now is as good a time as any to announce I formally exited Scream 7 weeks ago,” Landon said on X, formerly Twitter, in December. “This will disappoint some and delight others. It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare. And my heart did break for everyone involved. Everyone. But it’s time to move on.”
It followed on from the high-profile departures of Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera.
Ortega had decided not to reprise her role of Tara Carpenter due to her ongoing involvement in other projects. Barrera meanwhile was fired from the film for sharing pro-Palestine posts on social media – something that resulted in fans vowing to boycott Scream VII.
Campbell previously stepped down from the franchise around the time of Scream VI following a pay dispute, with many of her co-stars supporting her decision. However, it was reported in November that Spyglass had been trying to bring her back for Scream 7 as part of a “creative overhaul” and had floated the possibility of bringing Scream 3 antagonist Patrick Dempsey back too.
Speaking about the franchise in a new interview that you can see above, Campbell told IndieWire: “It’s sad to me that they’re struggling at the moment. I would imagine that the people at the top are spinning a little bit, trying to make the right decision.
“I would imagine people want to do the right thing. I would hope. I love this franchise. I love it for Wes [Craven]. I love it for all the people who’ve been involved and even the newer cast. I would hope it doesn’t fall apart.”
Asked if she would return to the franchise, Campbell added: “Given the right circumstances, yes.”
She added: “I made a statement several years ago, and it was the reason that I didn’t do the film at the time, and I just really felt the need to stand up and say that I don’t believe I would’ve been treated that way had I been a man carrying a franchise for 25 years, and that still stands. So if they were to choose to come back to me, that would continue to be my takeaway. We’ll see.”
Reviewing Scream VI last year, NME said: “Scream VI isn’t perfect: the constant meta references (past killers, the ‘rules’ of the franchise) felt inventive in last year’s reboot, but here grow tiresome…Luckily, such is the sheer, bloody joy of the thing that you’ll be too preoccupied to notice.”
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Elizabeth Aubrey
NME
