Neve Campbell’s departure from the Scream franchise had a huge impact on the script for the sixth instalment, director Tyler Gillett has revealed.
The 49-year-old’s character, Sidney Prescott, has successfully seen off those under the Ghostface mask for the first five films, cementing her status as one of the best final girls of horror.
However, she left film fans devastated when she confirmed that she would not be returning to the fold for the upcoming sequel, titled Scream VI, in a dispute over salary.
The first teaser trailer for the slasher was released yesterday, showing Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega leading their group of friends in New York, with Courteney Cox and Hayden Panettiere also set to reprise their roles.
Speaking of making the first film without Neve in the fray, Tyler explained that this affected their script, but suggested there was a silver lining to the update.
‘We love Neve, and we’re huge fans of Sidney Prescott,’ he told Entertainment Weekly. ‘But it felt like there’s an opportunity to really dig into this new crop of characters, and I think people will be really surprised and pleased with how successfully this movie does that.
‘This movie’s been in our lives now for quite a while, but I think that we are still consistently surprised by how rich and how interesting and deep the relationship is between the four of them in this movie.’
Neve previously confessed that she hasn’t entirely closed the door on the Scream universe, and could find her way back into the franchise at some point in the future.
Her departure isn’t the only thing that will be different about the sequel, as the gang have swapped their murderous hometown of Woodsboro for the bright lights of New York.
The trailer shows them being haunted by a figure in a Ghostface costume on the subway, teasing that their nemesis has found them once again.
Discussing how they came to be in the Big Apple, the filmmaker explained that it’s due to school.
‘One of the things that was so exciting to us was bringing the story and bringing this slasher icon into a new location,’ he continued. ‘I think across the board, for the writers Guy [Busick] and Jamie [Vanderbilt] as well, this was such a fun opportunity to explore what that would feel like, bringing the world of Scream into that setting.
‘The teaser is a good example of how we’re having fun with that throughout the movie. That is one of many sequences in the movie that uses the city really to its benefit and in surprising and thrilling ways.’
Scream 6 is in cinemas on March 10, 2023.
