Neve Campbell says she's in talks to return for Scream 5, but just because she comes back, doesn't mean Sidney Prescott will last very long. In the current age of established franchises ruling the box office charts, every studio is digging through its back catalog in the hopes of resurrecting any existing intellectual properties that might draw fans into theaters. After the Coronavirus passes, this will likely become even more common, as studios seek to try and make the masses feel comfortable inside movie theaters again.
With that said, it's no surprise that a Scream revival is on the menu, although it's still not quite clear exactly what form it will take. The project is being referred to as Scream 5 for clarity's sake, but has no official title yet, and no story details. It's been called a reboot, but with Campbell now openly discussing her possible return, Scream 5 doesn't seem like it will be the start of a new continuity with new characters.
If Campbell does come back to play Sidney Prescott once again though, we think she might not stick around for long. Horror has a long history of bringing back survivors to conclusively kill them off, and Sidney might be next added to that list.
Scream 5 Theory: Neve Campbell’s Sidney Will Be Killed Off Early
One of the things that really got Scream noticed back in 1996 was its opening scene, an incredibly tense cat and mouse game between Ghostface and Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore), that resulted in her brutal demise by knife. It was shocking, as Barrymore was the biggest star in the film, and was front and center on all the marketing. Casey's death established right away that Scream wasn't a typical slasher movie, and that no one was truly safe. There's no better way to replicate that feeling for Scream 5 than to have Sidney herself be the opening death this time.
Over the course of the Scream series, the feeling that anyone can die began to soften, as the trio of Sidney, Dewey, and Gale managed to survive sequel after sequel, despite sometimes appearing to die onscreen. This plot armor needs to end for at least one of them in Scream 5, and Sidney should be that sacrifice. Scream fans love Sidney, and watching her die after nearly 25 years of surviving serial killer attacks would be a huge gut punch, and knock them on their backs. From then on, the audience would be white-knuckling their seats, wondering who would be next, as the one person who seemingly can't die in Scream finally did.