Scream 6 Star Jenna Ortega Says You Won't Miss Sidney In The New Movie Because ... Of All The Gore?

Ghostface works hard, but Radio Silence works harder.

Barely a year after their first entry in the franchise, the directing pair behind "Ready or Not" will be ready to go with another "Scream." It'll be the quickest turnaround between sequels since "Scream 2," which /Film's Michael Boyle argues is the best entry in the series. The fact that they've already completed production and it'll be released in the coming months means they either already had an idea they've been thinking about for a while now, or Paramount put the pressure on after the massive box office success of the previous film. As per "Scream" tradition, the key survivors from the last movie are coming back to face the masked killer(s). Among them are Gale (Courtney Cox), Chad (Mason Gooding), Mindy (Jasmin Savoy-Brown), Sam (Melissa Barrera), and her sister Tara (Jenna Ortega).

Even if you take "Scream" 2022 out of her lineup, Ortega has had an incredible year with hits like "X" and "The Fallout," and the upcoming Netflix series "Wednesday." There's no doubt that she's a star, especially after everything the last "Scream" put her character through. Tara deserves some rest, but once you've been targeted by Ghostface, you're automatically added to the "I'll get them next time" list of the replacement killer.

But there's the elephant in the room — the new "Scream" is moving forward without Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott. But Ortega believes that it won't be to the film's detriment.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, Ortega talked about how she feels confident that "Scream 6" features more than enough gore to wet the appetites of "Scream" fans missing Campbell's presence:

"I feel like I can't really speak too much on that just because it's not necessarily my character [...] 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."

"Scream" is home to some brutal kills. I mean, look no further than the opening of Wes Craven's 1996 slasher, where Drew Barrymore is brutally disemboweled and hung from a tree. But this series has largely survived because of its characters. Splatter flicks like "Terrifier 2" sell themselves on the practical gore effects because that's largely what brings people in. But if we weren't invested in Tara or Sam, the previous "Scream" wouldn't have been nearly as effective. Although she won't be making an appearance, Ortega ensures that Sidney's presence will be felt nonetheless:

"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."

With Cox as the only remaining member of the original trio returning, it stands to chance that the series' sixth installment will do everything in its power to really solidify the new blood, in addition to the return of fan favorite Kirby (Hayden Panettiere). Although it still feels weird to not have Campbell's involvement in any capacity.

Everything having to do with Campbell's absence from the new "Scream" makes me feel conflicted. On one hand, Sidney deserves to rest. We see in "Scream" (2022) that she's finally settled down, and formed a family of her own. It would be cruel to rip her from that, especially after you see the destructive pattern of the Ghostface killers making her enemy number one for decades. As an ongoing series, "Scream" needs to evolve from the legacy characters. It would be one thing if Campbell or Radio Silence simply wanted to go in a different direction with the new batch, but the reality of this situation highlights a frustratingly common problem in the industry.

Sidney's disappearance is less the result of creative decisions, and more because Paramount wasn't willing to pay Campbell a respectable salary. As she's stated before, her character has been at the heart of these movies for well over two decades now, and her pay should reflect that. It's another case of industry-wide misogyny thinking they can pull a fast one on one of the genre's greatest horror heroines.

There's a part of me that wants to believe they're pulling a fast one to throw everyone off, in the event Sidney does make an appearance. However, I can't imagine Campbell rolling with that kind of misdirection campaign, especially with a dilemma as commonplace as hers. I'm still excited to see what "Scream 6" has in store with Ortega, Berrara, and Cox, but it still stinks that the film comes with this unfortunate baggage.

"Scream 6" is set to hit theaters on March 10, 2023.