Neve Campbell Makes Surprise Return To ‘Scream’ Franchise After Exiting Over Pay Dispute

Scream fans are in for a treat. Neve Campbell, the actress who portrayed the series protagonist Sidney Prescott in the first 5 movies, is reprising her beloved role in Scream VII.

This may come as a surprise, as Campbell opted not to return for Scream VI following a pay dispute. According to Deadline, she issued a statement in June 2022, in which she elaborated on the “very difficult decision to move on.”

“As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Scream,” she explained. “I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.”

Nonetheless, in an Instagram post shared on Tuesday, Campbell wrote that she was “so excited to announce this news” that “Sidney Prescott is coming back” alongside a picture of her script, per Variety.

“It’s always been such a blast and an honor to get to play Sidney in the Scream movies,” she gushed. “My appreciation for these films and for what they have meant to me, has never waned. I’m very happy and proud to say I’ve been asked, in the most respectful way, to bring Sidney back to the screen and I couldn’t be more thrilled!!!”

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She also expressed her enthusiasm about director Kevin Williamson leading the seventh installment, noting that she’s “dreamt for many years of how amazing it would be to make one of these movies with [him] at the helm.”

Over the past couple months, the Scream VII cast and crew have seen notable turnover. Melissa Barrera, who played Samantha Carpenter in both Scream (2022) and Scream VI, was fired from the film in November due to several posts of hers on social media surrounding the war between Israel and Hamas, per Variety. Merely a day after, Jenna Ortega, who starred alongside Barrera as Tara Carpenter, exited the project reportedly because of a conflict with production on Wednesday‘s sophomore season.

Director Christopher Landon then announced his departure from the film in December, deeming the project “a dream job that turned into a nightmare” in a statement on X (the platform formerly known as Twitter), per Deadline.

Barrera opened up to Rolling Stone in January about being dropped from the film, acknowledging that she was “not the first person that’s happened to, but it was shocking.” Barrera did not reveal whether or not her firing led to Ortega’s exit, but deemed her former co-star “a good egg,” highlighting that they “would show up” for each other “no matter what.”