Scream VI directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and writer James Vanderbilt have opened up about how Scream icon Neve Campbell’s decision to leave the film impacted the story.
When asked by Variety about if Campbell leaving the movie changed any large arcs in the story, the filmmakers explained that the actress’ departure didn’t cause any major issues.
“This was always the story we wanted to tell, which is really exciting we were able to do it. The Sam and Tara sister story was always the thing we wanted to be front and center in this,” Vanderbilt said. “We love Neve and think she’s amazing and had a great experience with her on 5. She needs to do what she needs to do as a business woman and we totally support that.”
“That happened early enough in the process. Credit to the script, which was structurally solid and changed very little. There wasn’t a huge pivot,” Gillett said. “I think what ultimately happened was we knew that if anything, in the absence of that character, we had to really dig deeper into the core four and make those relationships matter in a really emotional way. The goal was to try to form a connection between those characters and the audience the way that we formed a connection with Gale, Dewey and Sid. At the end of the day, that’s just about having the time and the real estate in your story to really dig deep. But no, it wasn’t a wildly dramatic pivot.”
Bettinelli-Olpin also confirmed that no reshoots had to be done as a result of the change, as it happened in pre-production.
“And there were no reshoots, because it was all very pre-production,” the director explained. “I mean, we were panicked, because we’re losing our minds. We’re like, we don’t know what we’re shooting.” Gillett followed up, saying, “We were prepping two versions of a movie.”
Finally, the group was asked about how Sidney, Campbell’s character, would have ended up in New York in the original script, to which Vanderbilt simply said, “Yeah, I don’t want to talk about the woulda-couldas.”
Scream VI features the return of franchise vets Courteney Cox and Hayden Panettiere as well as several returning cast members from 2022’s Scream, including Melissa Barrera (Vida), Jenna Ortega (Wednesday), Mason Gooding (Booksmart), and Jasmin Savoy Brown (The Leftovers).
