‘Scream VI’ scribes break down how Neve Campbell’s absence affected the story

Neve Campbell has been a recurrent presence throughout the Scream franchise and with time, her performance as Sydney Prescott continued to receive an incredible amount of fame and praise, turning her into one of the best final girls of all-time.

So much so that even after losing her status as the central figure in the fifth installment to Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), her involvement remained vital for the movie’s climax. For an actress of such caliber and importance, leaving a franchise that practically revolves around her understandably caused a lot of concerns for the writers to proceed with the story for the sixth film.

After all, despite a shift in the leading protagonist’s position in Scream VI, the movies have always been about Ghostface’s nemesis, Sydney. Campbell’s decision to leave left the fans disappointed, even more so when the reason behind it was revealed as nothing more than money.

Consequently, the scribes had to come up with a new storyline where Campbell’s non-appearance can be convincingly explained. This was admitted by writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, as well as the producer William Sherak, who opened up to ComicBook about how the trio took upon themselves the arduous task of adjusting the story.

“We found, very early on, that this was always the story we wanted to tell. We always were going to tell the story about Sam and Tara, and we were dialing in and figuring out who the characters were around that. The movie you saw has very much always been the movie it was. Yes, and I think a Scream movie can always have Sidney Prescott in it. When that information came to us, you don’t look at it the way you’re thinking. It’s much more, ‘This is the story we were telling.’ Sidney can fit into any Scream movie, she’s Sidney Prescott. And that just wasn’t in the cards we were able to play with. So we got to tell this amazing story and the guys crafted it brilliantly. But if Sidney Prescott’s in a Scream movie, Sidney Prescott fits that Scream movie. We have that luxury. We have the luxury of a character you can always make work in this franchise.”

It was explained that after years of fighting the Ghostface, Sydney finally chose a peaceful life, refusing to lend any further assistance to take down the killer, which makes sense if one thinks about her lifelong struggles with the masked murderer.

With the spotlight now resting on the Carpenter sisters, fans will look out for what the movies have in store for them, and whether they will be able to cross the bar set by Sydney Prescott.