Neve Campbell Shares Her Thoughts on Scream VI After Turning Down Role: 'I Don't Wish These Movies Ill Will'

Neve Campbell has now seen Scream VI, the first in the franchise that doesn't feature her in its cast.

At this month’s Monster-Mania Con, the actress, 50, answered fan questions about starring in the first five Scream movies as Sidney Prescott. Due to a pay dispute in her contract, Campbell chose not to appear in Scream VI, which arrived in theaters in March.

“I don’t wish these movies ill will,” Campbell told the crowd. Of the sixth installment, directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, she said, “I wanted the movie to be good. It’s not like I’m sitting in my house going, 'I hope it sucks, I hope it doesn’t do well.' "

Campbell admitted she hadn’t seen Scream VI until two weeks before the convention appearance — “It took me a minute, I don’t know why!” — and praised the New York City–set story.

“I actually thought they did a really good job. I think the cast are really powerful, wonderful actors," she said.

The film, which was a box-office hit, starred Courteney Cox, Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding and Hayden Panettiere.

Campbell added that she cared about “all the people involved." 

“There’s someone at the top who only thinks about money and that’s their prerogative,” she said about her contract dispute. “But for the rest of them, everybody else, I care about these movies being good. And I care about that for you guys too because I know you guys love these films.”

Campbell’s affection for the Scream cast and crew includes David Arquette as Dewey Riley, whom she called “such a wonderful character” later in the panel. Of his murder at the hands of Ghostface in 2022’s Scream, she admitted her disappointment, calling it “tragic.” 

“I was so sad about Dewey’s death,” she said. “And I don’t usually like to criticize the writing in these projects. But I was really disappointed in their choice to get rid of David… We were all in love with him and I think we all felt pretty sad about that. Which, of course, is the reason they do it ’cause it has more impact. But now I miss him. I want to see more of him.”

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Of playing her role since 1996’s Wes Craven-directed Scream, Campbell also quipped, “I'm happy Sidney hasn't died.”

“To be the gal who got to play a character who was not a victim, who overcomes, who is not your typical horror film female character, who is a fighter, who has inspired that in people, is a great honor. I had no idea — I knew the script was great. I loved Sidney’s journey in the first one. But I had no idea the effect that she would have, the impact she would have on people. It really touches me.”

Franchise screenwriter Kevin Williamson said in September he’s holding out hope for the possibility of Campbell’s return. “All I can say is pay her the money,” he said on an episode of the Happy Horror Time podcast. “I’m sure there’s a number they can agree on that will make them both happy. So hopefully one day they will figure that all out.”

Campbell told PEOPLE in 2022 of her decision to refuse the contract offered to her for Scream VI, “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 added, “As a woman in this business, I think it's really important for us to be valued and to fight to be valued… I honestly don't believe that if I were a man and had done five installments of a huge blockbuster franchise over 25 years, that the number that I was offered would be the number that would be offered to a man."

A seventh Scream installment is in the works under director Christopher Landon, it was revealed in August.