The Scream franchise is no stranger to behind-the-scenes shake-ups, but few have been as seismic as what’s unfolded around the much-anticipated Scream 7. With the unexpected exits of Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega — the breakout duo poised to carry the torch — fans were left wondering if Ghostface had finally claimed the franchise itself. But just as the mask seemed to fall, the ultimate final girl, Sidney Prescott, was pulled back into the game.
Neve Campbell, who sat out Scream 6 after a very public pay dispute, is officially back — and according to screenwriter Guy Busick, there’s a very specific reason why.
"We cracked something," he told ComicBook while promoting Final Destination: Bloodlines. "A reason that made sense to Neve, to Kevin Williamson, to the studio — and to us. I don’t want to give anything away about the reason (Scream 7) had to be a Sidney movie, because there's a really cool reason."
Busick continued: "There is a really specific reason why Sidney is in this movie. I will say there is a reason and we're happy with it when we cracked it. We went to Neve Campbell and said, 'This is why. This is why Sidney now.' Neve was like, 'Oh, I get that.' I pitched Kevin (Williamson) this first, too. He got it and then I pitched the studio."
Originally, Scream 7 was meant to complete the "Core Four" arc. But with Barrera fired and Ortega stepping away, Busick and co-writer James Vanderbilt had to scrap everything and start from zero. "We wanted to do one more story with them. But the universe had other plans. So we asked — why Sidney, and why now?"
The answer, it seems, may just be the reset the franchise didn’t know it needed — but absolutely deserves.
