David Arquette made it pretty clear that Neve Campbell was a vital ingredient in the success of the Scream franchise, even though she remained the last holdout after Arquette and Courtney Cox both agreed to reprise their roles in the upcoming fifth installment, which is currently scheduled for release in January 2022.
Having played Sidney Prescott four times between 1996 and 2011, there was concern that the actress had no interest in returning to the well once more, especially after series creator and director Wes Craven passed away in 2015. After all, new outings for marketable franchises arriving decades later has become an increasingly regular practice these days, but in some cases, the final product has only served to disappoint.
That being said, the first four Scream movies were impressively consistent, and didn’t succumb to the law of diminishing returns as steeply as many other recognizable brands did. And with Ready or Not filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett behind the camera this time around, there’s every chance that the latest entry will mark a true return to form.
Of course, Campbell finally signed on the dotted line a long time after Arquette and Cox did, and in a recent interview, she revealed how she was convinced to hop on board once more.
“Oh you guys, I’m 47 and I’m going to be covered in blood. I’m excited to get back to it. I’m excited to see Courteney and David. I’m excited to see this young new cast. I’m excited to work with these new directors. I had been apprehensive because our incredible director Wes Craven passed away and I wasn’t sure about doing a film without him. But the new directors came to me with this beautiful letter, saying 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.”
It sounds as though the actress wouldn’t have even considered the possibility of heading back to the Scream universe if Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett hadn’t given her the hardest of hard sells, but with the gang finally reunited and shooting underway now, everyone will be hoping to make a movie that can stand up to the legacy left behind by horror icon Wes Craven’s previous work.