Nine years after 2011’s Scream 4 arrived, the horror franchise is about to be resurrected. Ready or Not directing duo Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are taking over the reins from the late, great Wes Craven for Scream 5. Though it’s widely called a reboot, we know that it’ll still be part of the original continuity as Neve Campbell recently confirmed that she’s in talks to return as Sidney Prescott once more.
Based on this information, ScreenRant has outlined a bold theory for the movie: just because Campbell may be coming back doesn’t mean she’s going to be the lead again. Scream 4 already attempted to introduce a new final girl in the form of Emma Roberts’ Jill, but that film’s (undoubtedly smart) twist to do with that character prevented further sequels from happening at the time. So, to ensure a new trilogy, Sid will surely be replaced with a new heroine to freshen things up.
And, as this is Scream we’re talking about, SR suggests that Sid will be killed off in the fifth film’s opening. Drew Barrymore’s shocking death in the original is still the most iconic moment in the franchise, with each movie calling back to it by kicking things off with another major death (or in Scream 4‘s case, several deaths). It would be the most surprising one yet though if Sid was finally offed by Ghostface five minutes into the next one.
This is certainly a neat theory, and would definitely fit the Scream series’ love of pulling the rug from under audiences. However, Sidney’s a huge fan favorite and across the four previous films she’s always been treated as a fully-dimensional character with a lot of agency. As such, killing her off in this way, while shocking, could easily damage her whole arc. Similar to Laurie Strode’s early demise in 2002’s god-awful Halloween: Resurrection.
Production is expected to begin on Scream 5 as soon as possible, though a release date has yet to be assigned. In the meantime, let us know what you think of this theory in the usual place down below.