'Scream 5': Neve Campbell Might Return

It's looking like Neve Campbell might return to the Scream franchise. The actress, who starred as Sidney Prescott in the first four slasher films, was recently interviewed by Jake Hamilton on his YouTube channel, where she discussed the very real possibility of reprising the character for Scream 5.

"They've come to me and we're having conversations," Campbell said, via Bloody Disgusting. "It's a little hard at the moment because of COVID to know when that'll happen and hopefully we can see eye to eye on all the elements that have to come into place for it to happen. I originally had been really apprehensive about doing another Scream without Wes [Craven] because he was such a genius and he is the reason they are what they are but the directors have come to me with such a great appreciation for Wes's work and they really want to honor it and that meant a lot to me. Hopefully, we'll be able to do it."

Murmurings of a new Scream movie started back in November of 2019, after it was reported that Gary Barber's Spyglass Media Group has acquired the rights to the horror franchise and is currently developing a fifth installment. Spyglass is the same company that's behind the upcoming Hellraiser remake, which is separate from the upcoming HBO TV series. In March, it was announced that Ready or Not directors Matthew Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett would helm Scream 5.

The first Scream was released back in 1996 and took a subversive look at the horror genre as a whole. Wes Craven directed the film, based on a script from Kevin Williamson, and by all accounts was a smash hit. Scream 2 came out the following year, with Scream 3 hitting theaters in 2000. The fourth installment, which was sort of a soft-reboot, updated the premise to the digital age when it opened in 2011. As Campbell pointed out, the coronavirus pandemic is making it difficult to plan large-scale productions, so it's unclear what the timetable for Scream 5 will look like.

All four Scream films were directed by Craven, who passed away back in 2017. This would make Scream 5 the first installment without the horror master's signature style. However, it sounds like both Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett are keenly aware of the director's work, which hopefully translates to the screen. There's also a small-screen adaptation of Scream, which aired on MTV from 2016 and 2019.