Neve Campbell has confirmed early negotiations are underway to see her return to the “Scream” franchise for a fifth installment currently in the works…
Neve Campbell might be willing to “Scream” again.
The veteran actress confirmed recently that she has started negotiations on a possible return for “Scream 5” from “Ready or Not” filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who are taking over the franchise from the late Wes Craven. Sadly, Craven died in 2015 but the “Scream” franchise has continued with a TV version on MTV before the latest talks about a new film began.
“We’re having conversations – I have been approached about it,” Campbell told Rotten Tomatoes. “The timing’s a bit challenging because of COVID. You know, we only started the conversation maybe a month and a half ago, so it’s going to take some time to figure out how it’s all going to work out…. We’re negotiating, so we’ll see.
“The two directors wrote me a very touching letter about Wes Craven and how he was such an inspiration to them and how they really want to honor him, and that meant a great, great deal to me. So we’ll see. Hopefully we can all see eye to eye on the project and find a way to make it.”
“Ready or Not” was a surprising hit this past summer as Samara Weaving starred as a newlywed who ends up being hunted by her in-laws as part of a twisted ritual carried out after every new marriage in the family. The directors behind that film are now developing a new take on “Scream,” although it’s unclear if the fifth film in the series will be a direct sequel or a reboot in the franchise.
With Campbell in talks to return, it’s hard to imagine that the new “Scream” won’t serve as a sequel to the original films where she starred as “final girl” Sidney Prescott, who survives a brutal attack during the first film and continues to be haunted by that night in the subsequent movies.
“I’m so grateful for these films… I love Sidney Prescott,” Campbell said. “It’s always fun for me to step back in her shoes, and it’s always fun for me to see the cast come back and make one of these films again and try to make another good one.”
“Scream” was not expected to be a hit when it was first released during a time when the horror genre had all but disappeared from any major cinema releases. The success of that film not only spawned three sequels but “Scream” helped revitalized the entire horror industry for several years after that movie came out in 1996.
In 2018, the “Halloween” franchise was rebooted with Jamie Lee Curtis returning to the role she first played in 1978 and now there are two more sequels being produced for release in 2020 and 2021. There has also been talks lately about “A Nightmare on Elm Street” being rebooted as well.
The last time Campbell portrayed Sidney Prescott was in 2011’s “Scream 4,” which earned just over $97 million at the box office on a $40 million budget. While those aren’t bad numbers by any means, the film didn’t produce the kind of success as the previous sequels and it seemed like “Scream” would go away for a while.
Now with a new film in the works, Campbell might seek to return to her roots to play the “final girl” at least one more time in the latest installment in the “Scream” franchise.
