2022 has been a killer year for horror, with breakout hits like X and Bodies Bodies Bodies introducing a whole new generation of scream queens to the roster. But as any true horror fan knows, there can only be one final girl left standing at the end, and the genre’s renaissance has proved to be no exception.
The blood-soaked arrival of actors like Mia Goth and Amandla Sternberg to the scene has coincided with some major final bows, including Jaime Lee Curtis’ Laurie Strode (allegedly) and, more surprisingly, Neve Campbell’s iconic Sidney Prescott from the Scream franchise.
While watching whoever next inhabits Ghostface hack their way through Woodsboro without having to face down their decades-old nemesis may sound unappealing to fans of the tongue-in-cheek series, newly crowned Scream queen Jenna Ortega tried to assuage those fears in a recent interview with Entertainment Tonight.
“I feel like I can’t really speak too much on [Campbell’s exit] just because it’s not necessarily my character,” she said. “But I will say there’s so much going on in this next one, that it’s so action-heavy and so gore-heavy that I think you’re gonna be distracted almost.”
“There’s references to Sidney, of course,” she continued. “You know, it’s nice because there’s still a protectiveness in the script and that’s something that the actors had naturally over her because obviously we respect her and we want the best for her. She’s missed and thought of.”
Campbell shocked fans this summer by announcing that she would not be returning to her iconic role in Scream 6 due to a salary dispute. “I did not feel that what I was being offered equated to the value that I bring to this franchise, and have brought to this franchise, for 25 years,” she said. “And as a woman in this business, I think it’s really important for us to be valued and to fight to be valued.” Now that she has a little more free time on her hands, maybe Campbell will revive Sidney for a new franchise about fighting sexism in the film industry—that would make an even scarier opponent than Ghostface, in our opinion.