Neve Campbell returns for ‘Scream 7’ after salary dispute — and major production shakeups

Neve Campbell returns for ‘Scream 7’ after salary dispute — and major production shakeups

Sidney Prescott’s not done screaming.

“Scream” star Neve Campbell announced on Instagram Tuesday that she’ll be back for “Scream 7” — marking her sixth appearance in the franchise.

“I’m so excited to announce this news!!!” she wrote in a post accompanying a photo of the screenplay. 

“Sidney Prescott is coming back!!!! It’s always been such a blast and an honor to get to play Sidney in the Scream movies. My appreciation for these films and for what they have meant to me, has never waned.”


Neve CampbellNeve Cambell confirmed she will return to the role of Sidney Prescott in “Scream 7.” Getty Images

She enthusiastically added: “I’m very happy and proud to say I’ve been asked, in the most respectful way, to bring Sidney back to the screen and I couldn’t be more thrilled!!!”

Explore More


Campbell, 50, also confirmed a bit of news that is sure to entice horror fans: “Scream 7” will be directed by Kevin Williamson, the man who wrote the pioneering original 1996 film as well as the second and fourth entries.

“This was his baby and it’s his brilliant mind that dreamt up this world,” the actress said. “Kevin is not just an inspiration as an artist but has been a dear friend for many years.”

Campbell previously declined to return for 2023’s “Scream VI” over a salary dispute.

“I did not feel that what I was being offered equated to the value that I bring to this franchise, and have brought to this franchise, for 25 years,” she told People in August 2022.

“As a woman in this business, I think it’s really important for us to be valued and to fight to be valued,” she went on at the time. “I honestly don’t believe that if I were a man and had done five installments of a huge blockbuster franchise over 25 years, that the number that I was offered would be the number that would be offered to a man.”

She concluded: “In my soul, I just couldn’t do that. I couldn’t walk on set feeling that — feeling undervalued and feeling the unfairness, or lack of fairness, around that.”

Campbell’s return is a rare piece of upbeat news for the embattled “Scream” series, which, since successfully rebooting, has been plagued by actor departures and firings.

Actress Melissa Barrera, who appeared in 2022’s “Scream” and 2023’s New York-set “Scream VI,” was let go from the seventh flick after making anti-Israel remarks online.


Neve Campbell and Rose McGowan in ScreamCampell also said that original “Scream” screenwriter Kevin Williamson will direct the seventh movie. Dimension Films/Courtesy Everett Collection

“Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp,” the 33-year-old actress wrote. “Cornering everyone together, with no where to go, no electricity no water … People have learnt nothing from our histories. And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING.”

A spokesman for the production company said in a statement to Variety: “Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech.”

Around that time, Jenna Ortega also departed the project reportedly because of her demanding “Wednesday” shooting schedule for Netflix.

A release date for “Scream 7” is not yet known.