Will Scream 5 Include Neve Campbell’s Sydney? Here’s What She Said

Sydney in Scream 4

The past few years have seen a renaissance in the horror genre, with plenty of critically acclaimed movies hitting theaters. But horror was built on franchises, leading to new incarnations of properties like Halloween and Child's Play. As such, horror fans were delighted when news of the iconic slasher series Scream returning to theaters. Scream 5 is currently in development by Ready or Not directors Matthew Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, but will we see the original cast return? Luckily for us, Neve Campbell recently spoke to that possibility for the first time.

Neve Campbell played protagonist Sydney Prescott through all four Scream movies, working with the late horror legend Wes Craven as he turned slashers on their head. She'd presumably need to sign on for the main story to continue, and now Campbell has opened up about this possibility. When asked if she was set to return for Scream 5, the House of Cards alum said:

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. Hopefully we can see eye to eye on all of the elements that have to come into place for it to happen. I originally had been very apprehensive about doing another Scream movie without Wes because he’s such a genius and he is the reason they are what they are. But the directors who have come to me have come with such a great appreciation for Wes’ work and really want to honor it. And that meant a lot to me. Hopefully we’ll be able to do it.

Do you hear that? It's the sound of Scream fans everywhere cheering for joy. Because it looks like Matthew Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett intend on bringing Neve Campbell's Sydney back for Scream 5. And while nothing is set in stone, the actress' comments seems to indicate that she's down to return if the stars align.

Neve Campbell's comments about Scream 5 come from her recent conversation with ReelBlend co-host Jake Hamilton, who spoke with the actress about her new project Castle in the Ground. Eventually the conversation turned to her iconic tenure as a scream queen, and Scream 5's future in theaters. And it seems like the movie's new directors have really made an impression.

There were rumbling of a fifth Scream movie shortly after Scream 4 hit theaters in 2011. But when the movie failed to truly perform at the box office, those came to a halt. And as the franchises pivoted to TV with an MTV series, director/writer Wes Craven passed away in 2015. Craven's death seemed to dash all hopes of another Scream movie, at least until the directors of Ready or Not got involved.

Matthew Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett made Ready or Not a wild and hilarious horror experience, in a tone that is similar to what Wes Craven did with the Scream franchise. It seems they want to properly channel that same energy for Scream 5, in a turn of events that seemingly pleased Neve Campbell. Because how can you go back to Woodsboro without Sydney Prescott? Hopefully she's joined by Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Hayden Panettiere's Kirby.

CinemaBlend will keep you updated on all things Scream as details are released. In the meantime, check out our 2020 release list to plan your trips to the movies once they reopen.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more.