Neve Campbell has confirmed conversations about a horror franchise return in Scream 5. Almost a quarter of a century after the late Wes Craven introduced Scream to a generation of slasher-loving fans, the horror franchise continues to be wildly popular. Originally designed to cleverly parody the sort of films that Craven made a name for himself with, Scream blended just the right amount of comedy, irony, and horror to win over audiences and critics around the world. The success of Scream rejuvenated the teen-slasher genre, giving rise to other films at the time such as I Know What You Did Last Summer and Urban Legend.
In addition to this, the demand for a Scream sequel was overwhelming, and since 1996 there have been four feature films in the franchise, as well as an interesting, but ultimately rather limited MTV series. The most recent Scream film came in 2011, and saw series star Campbell return for yet another battle against the notorious Ghostface Killer. The recent news Scream 5 is in development has been met with no small amount of excitement and conjecture.
Of course, a Scream film wouldn’t be a Scream film without Neve Campbell, and perhaps the biggest question from fans since news of Scream 5 hit is whether or not the franchise star will be back once again. Thanks to Rotten Tomatoes, we now know that Campbell is indeed involved in conversations over the possibility of her return. Initially slightly hesitant to return to the series without the involvement of Craven, Campbell revealed to journalist Jake Hamilton that Scream 5’s directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett were inspired by Craven's work, which eased her mind:
We’re having conversations – I have been approached about it. 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. I’m so grateful for these films… I love Sidney Prescott. 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.
Campbell clearly has a great deal of respect for Craven, as do Scream fans. In fact, it might be hard for some to imagine a Scream sequel without the iconic horror director. At the same time, however, both Craven as well as original Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson returned for Scream 4, but the film failed to reach the box office levels of past Scream films. Even Scream 3, which is widely derided by many fans of the franchise, outperformed the fourth installment by a considerable degree. With Scream 5 still in its very early stages, it’s unclear how or what the film will do with the series that hasn’t already been done. Yet this fails to diminish the excitement of Scream fans, and final confirmation of Campbell’s return (should it occur) will be the last step in a return from a horror series that continues to find ways to entertain.
At present, Scream fans know that the fifth film will involve a woman who returns to her hometown to investigate a series of brutal murders. This, of course, is not much to go on, considering that Scream 4 followed a very similar concept. Only time will tell how Scream 5 will pan out, but with Williamson on board to executive produce, there will still be some element of the franchise’s extensive history intact – even if Campbell decides that she isn’t interested in a fifth return to the series.
Source: Rotten Tomatoes