Making the right call. Neve Campbell is looking forward to returning to her final girl roots in Scream 5, but she was initially on the fence.
“I’m excited to get back to it. I’m excited to see Courteney [Cox] and David [Arquette]. I’m excited to see this young new cast. I’m excited to work with these new directors,” the Craft actress, 47, said during a recent appearance on The Talk. “I had been apprehensive because, you know, our director, our incredible director Wes Craven passed away, and I wasn’t sure about doing a film without him.”
Campbell continued, “But the new directors came to me with this beautiful letter saying that they’ve become directors and love film because of these films, and because of Wes, and they really want to be true to his story and his journey with these films. So, I was really happy to hear that.”
The Canada native played Sidney Prescott across four Scream films, which debuted between 1996 to 2011. Along with Cox, 56, and Arquette, 49, Campbell is among the only original cast members to appear in each installment.
Craven, the franchise’s creator, died in August 2015 from brain cancer — just a few years after Scream 4 debuted. However, earlier this year, it was announced that Ready or Not filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett were tapped to direct the fifth installment. Kevin Williamson, who wrote and produced many of the Scream movies, joined as an executive producer. James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick will pen the film’s script.
Campbell first spoke about having early discussions to join Scream 5 in early May. “They’ve come to me and we’re having conversations. It’s a little hard at the moment because of COVID to know when that’ll happen,” the actress said in an interview with YouTuber Jake Hamilton on May 6. “Hopefully, we can see eye to eye on all of the elements that have to come into place for it to happen.”
Arquette’s (Dewey Riley) return was confirmed in May and Cox (Gale Weathers) followed suit in July. It wasn’t until early September that Campbell revealed on Instagram that she is on board, writing: “Hello again, Sidney… #ImBack @ScreamMovies.”
In the month of the Wild Things star’s announcement, Marley Shelton and Roger L. Jackson were confirmed to return in their respective roles as Deputy Judy Hicks and the voice of Ghostface. Jack Quaid, Dylan Minnette and Jenna Ortega are among the newcomers who have been cast.
Production on the upcoming slasher flick began late last month in Wilmington, North Carolina. Deadline reported on September 25 that three crew members tested positive for COVID-19 during the shoot, but filming continued.
Scream 5 is slated to be released on January 14, 2022.
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