Neve Campbell has dropped out of the forthcoming Scream sequel over a pay dispute.
The actor has played lead character Sidney Prescott in all five previous entries in the hit horror franchise, most recently in this year’s Scream.
While the next film in the franchise has already been given the go-ahead, Campbell revealed yesterday (6 June) that she would not be returning.
“Sadly, I won’t be making the next Scream film,” Campbell said in a statement to Variety. “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.”
The actor added that her fans had always been “incrediblly supportive”, and that she was “forever grateful” to what the franchise had “given [her] over the past 25 years”.
The first Scream was released in 1996, and was immediately embraced for its genre-literate, subversive spin on classic horror tropes.
The Independent has contacted Parmount Pictures and the film’s directors for comment.
Scream (2022) was met with mixed reviews when it debuted earlier this year. In a four-star write-up for The Independent, Clarisse Loughrey wrote: “The latest Scream, the fifth in the franchise, doesn’t try to fix what isn’t broken.
“It’s a little metatextual analysis served up with a generous side of guts and gore, stabbing its cake and eating it with gleeful abandon.”
