Neve Campbell, who bowed out of the “Scream” horror franchise’s sixth iteration over pay equity, said she is open for a return in the upcoming “Scream 7” under “the right circumstances.”
The money she’d been offered for “Scream 6” “did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise,” she said in 2022 in announcing her departure from the 25-year-long series of horror flicks. She starred in the first five installments as protagonist Sidney Prescott, helping the movies rake in nearly $750 million in box office receipts.
On Saturday, she tweaked her tune, implying that her decision was not necessarily final.
“I made a statement several years ago, and it was the reason I didn’t do the film at the time,” she said to IndieWire on Saturday from the red carpet at the BAFTA Tea Party in Beverly Hills.
“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. So if they were to choose to come back to me, that would continue to be my takeaway. We’ll see.”
“Scream 7” is supposedly in the works, though it has been held up by a number of factors. Those range from the departures of stars Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega to the exit of director Christopher Landon and script-writing snags stemming from last year’s strike by the Writers Guild of America. Original director Wes Craven died in 2015.
Campbell has plenty of other work, including Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” and other pending projects.
“It’s sad to me that they’re struggling at the moment,” she told IndieWire on Saturday. “I would imagine that the people at the top are spinning a little bit, trying to make the right decision. I think I would imagine people want to do the right thing. I would hope.
“I love this franchise. I love it for Wes,” Campbell continued. “I love it for all the people who’ve been involved and even the newer cast. I would hope it doesn’t fall apart.”
