Courteney Cox acknowledges that she misses Neve Campbell

March 1, 2023March 1, 2023 Editor

Courteney Cox reprises her role in Scream VI, out March 10, but Neve Campbell didn’t return due to contract negotiations

Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox’s collaboration on the most recent Scream sequel was missed.

In Scream VI, the first installment in the series in which Campbell does not play the lead character Sidney Prescott, the actress is back as Gale Weathers. “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,” Campbell, 49, told last year about her decision not to come back.

Cox, 58, said of Campbell’s absence in an interview with Variety: “I missed working with her, but I’m going to support whatever she feels is right.”

Cox, whose ex-husband and longtime Scream co-star David Arquette is also absent from the latest episode due to the death of his character in last year’s fifth film, also shared excitement about Hayden Panettiere returning to the franchise after 2011’s Scream 4.

“Kirby comes — Hayden Panettiere. It’s so interesting how people came back. I have to remember. I thought she died! I get so confused. There’s been so many,” joked Cox. “I’m just so excited to be a part of something this long.”

“I have a really good scene with Ghostface and it was amazing. I’ve obviously been stabbed many times and all that, but this time, to work with Ghostface and not know who’s under the mask, it was really fun. Usually by the time I’m getting stabbed, I know who it is,” she added of the iconic villain.

Campbell — who also previously told PEOPLE she might still return to Scream in the future: “I don’t know that I’m done for good” — added that there was no “bad blood” between her and her cast mates over her decision. “Everyone’s been incredibly supportive,” she said last year.

Campbell said she made her choice and then “I apologised for not being able to attend and told Courteney and Melissa [Barrera] and the directors how much I loved them and hoped they had a good time. They also expressed sadness while being very sympathetic and understanding.”

Along with Jenna Ortega, Mason Gooding, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato, Josh Segarra, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, and Samara Weaving, the new movie, which is this time set in New York City, is also directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett.

On March 10, Scream VI opens in theatres.