Start spreading the news, she’s leaving today… the “she” in question being Neve Campbell, who will not be returning for Scream VI. But most of the surviving cast will be, with Scream VI hitting cinemas on March 9.
What’s interesting is that this latest episode eschews the sleepy (well, sleepy when it isn’t being plagued by pop-culture-addled serial killers) town of Woodsboro for New York City.
It’s not the first time the franchise has travelled, of course; whether or not Scream 2’s Windsor College is in Woodsboro is debatable but Scream 3 took us all the way to Los Angeles (to middling results, it must be said). But New York City is a popular vacation destination for film franchise mass murderers—who could possibly forget Friday the 13th Part VIII: Jason Takes Manhattan?
This latest instalment is a direct sequel to 2022’s well-regarded Scream, which was directed by the Ready or Not team of by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. So, while we may not be getting Sidney Prescott back in the mix (pay dispute, in case you were wondering), we will be following Melissa Barrera’s Sam Carpenter, who was revealed to be OG killer Billy Loomis’ daughter in the last film, and her half-sister Tara, played by nascent scream queen Jenna Ortega.
Speaking of scream queens, genre mainstay Samara Weaving, who starred in Ready or Not, is playing an undisclosed role, while Courtney Cox will be back as the iconic newshound Gale Weathers. Another Scream veteran returning to the fold is Hayden Panettiere, reprising her role of Kirby Reed from the fourth film. Whether Matthew Lillard is back as Stu, who hasn’t been seen since the 1996 original but whose survival is not out of the question, has been the subject of fierce speculation—but it’d be pretty cool if he was.
Other than that, details are under wraps, but if you’ve got a yen for sharp, metatextual franchise horror, it looks like you’re in for a good year.
