Neve Campbell is open to returning to ‘Scream’ franchise if ‘circumstances’ are right

By Alli Rosenbloom, CNN

(CNN) — Neve Campbell’s battle with Ghostface may not be over yet.

Campbell, who originated the iconic role of Sidney Prescott in 1996’s “Scream,” says she’d be open to returning for a seventh installment of the franchise under “the right circumstances.”

Campbell appeared in four sequels since the 1996 classic but announced her departure from the popular franchise in 2022 over pay disparity.

“I made a statement several years ago, and it was the reason I didn’t do the film at the time,” she told Indiewire on the BAFTA Tea Party red carpet on Saturday. “I just really felt the need to stand up and say that I don’t think I would have been treated that way if I was a man carrying a franchise for 25 years.”

Campbell did not specify to which statement she was referencing. But when she announced her exit, she told Variety that she felt the offer to appear in “Scream VI” “did not equate to the value” she’s brought to the franchise as its principal star during the cult horror film’s decades-long lifespan.

Months later, in an interview with People, Campbell recalled making the decision, saying, “As a woman in this business, I think it’s really important for us to be valued and to fight to be valued.”

“I couldn’t walk on set feeling that — feeling undervalued and feeling the unfairness, or lack of fairness, around that,” she said at the time, adding on Saturday that the sentiment “still stands today.”

Campbell most recently appeared in the second season of Netflix’s the “Lincoln Lawyer.”

In November, Spyglass, the studio that is producing “Scream VII,” announced actress Melissa Barrera would no longer be starring in the film. The decision came after Barrera made social media posts about the war between Israel and Hamas that the studio characterized as “hate speech.”

“Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech,” the company said in a statement to CNN at the time.

That same week, Jenna Ortega reportedly also exited “Scream VII.” Both Ortega and Barrera appeared in 2022’s “Scream” and 2023’s “Scream VI.”

“It’s sad to me that they’re struggling at the moment,” Campbell added on Saturday of the franchise in flux.

“I would hope it doesn’t fall apart,” she added.

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