Turns out, the iconic final girl made her final appearance in “Scream 5,” released earlier this year and marking the first “Scream” film without late Craven’s involvement. Campbell confirmed the rumors on June 6, telling press in a statement that salary negotiations led to her exit. (Deadline first reported the news.) “Sadly I won’t be making the next ‘Scream’ film,” Campbell said. “As a woman, I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to ‘Scream’. I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.” Campbell continued, “It’s been a very difficult decision to move on. To all my ‘Scream’ fans, I love you. You’ve always been so incredibly supportive to me. I’m forever grateful to you and to what this franchise has given me over the past 25 years.”
IndieWire has reached out to representatives at distributor Paramount Pictures and production company Spyglass for comment. All in all, the franchise has grossed more than $744 million at the box office since the film that started it all in 1996. After stepping away from “Scream,” Campbell currently stars in Netflix’s “The Lincoln Lawyer” series and also recently signed on to Peacock’s “Twisted Metal” adaptation opposite Anthony Mackie and Thomas Haden Church. Fellow original “Scream” star David Arquette bowed out of the franchise after meeting his untimely death in “Scream 5,” which released on January 14 and earned $140 million at the global box office. Courteney Cox separately confirmed to Variety that she will be back for the sixth installment as Gale Weathers in a recent interview. With “Scream 5” co-screenwriters James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick returning to pen the “Scream 6” script, as well as Radio Silence’s Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett co-directing, the sixth film is slated for a March 31, 2023 release. The plot has been kept under wraps but is said to focus on the four core survivors of the fifth film, played by Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Mason Gooding, as they leave Woodsboro for a fresh start. “Scream 4” alum Hayden Panettiere will be back as cinephile Kirby and Dermot Mulroney joins the franchise as a police officer. Sign Up: Stay on top of the latest breaking film and TV news! Sign up for our Email Newsletters here.
