WARNING! This article contains SPOILERS for Scream 6Scream 6 forever changed the slasher franchise because of its unexpected twists and some crucial character changes. Neve Campbell made Scream the movie it was when she portrayed Sidney Prescott for the first five films. However, Paramount wouldn't pay her the salary she thought she deserved, so she chose not to come back for Scream 6 (per Screen Rant). This was a loss for the franchise since Sidney was the ultimate final girl. However, without Sidney, Scream 6 was able to go places it's never gone before. Scream 6 followed Sam and Tara Carpenter to New York City with their friends Chad and Mindy Meeks-Martin, and Ghostface followed too.
Detective Bailey, Quinn Bailey, and Ethan Landry were the main Ghostface killers, and they were after Sam for killing the detective's son, Richie Kirsch, in Scream 5. The film also shocked audiences when Ghostface, in the opening scene, revealed his identity after killing his film professor. Of course, he was soon murdered by a different Ghostface, as Scream 6 wasn't going to give away the killer that easily. However, it challenged fans' expectations based on what they've seen in previous Scream films. The sixth installment in the franchise flipped things on their heads, meaning the future of Scream films will never be the same.
5 Scream Can Never Have Too Many Ghostface Killers
Scream 3 is the only film in the franchise to feature just one Ghostface killer. The other films always had two Ghostfaces working together, and because of this, fans came to expect a two-killer reveal. The franchise followed this model in Scream 5, but for Scream 6, they went in a different direction. In the opening scene, Scream 6 revealed Jason Carvey and his friend Greg as Ghostface killers.
Later, the other three were revealed. Jason and Greg didn't play much of a role in the film and were seemingly only there to throw fans off and add a twist to the iconic opening scene. However, the five Ghostface killer model has changed fans' expectations forever. They can no longer go into the films expecting just two killers because now anything is possible.
4 Scream Movies Can Work In Big Settings
Most of the Scream films have taken place in Woodsboro, a small town in California. However, Scream 2 changed locations to Windsor College in Ohio, and Scream 3 moved to Los Angeles. New York City is certainly the biggest move as Winsor College was in a small town, and Los Angeles and Woodsboro are both in California. This opens up the possibility for Scream films to take place anywhere in the world. If New York City seemed like a huge jump, imagine how intense a Scream film could get if it took place in another major city like Paris or Tokyo.
Taking the franchise overseas would give it another fresh start and prevent it from getting stale. It would also be wild to see if Ghostface and the Stab movies are as well known in other countries as they are in America. Clearly, nothing is off-limits after Scream 6, so future Scream movies have endless potential for locations.
3 Future Scream Movies Don't Need To Rely On Neve Campbell's Sidney
Every horror film has its final girl, and most franchises would not survive without her. Surprisingly, this was not the case for Scream 6. The film still thrived without Campbell, meaning the franchise can still go on if she chooses never to return. Past Scream films have always found a way to tie Ghostface to Sidney. Even though Scream 5 was focused on Sam and the Ghostface killers were mostly going after her, Sidney still returned to Woodsboro, and Ghostface was dedicated to taking her down too. Scream 6 proved there's still a movie without Sidney, and they don't have to tie the storyline back to her.
While the door is always open for Campbell's return, and fans would love to see her back, without her, Scream is free to take the film in any direction they choose. They can keep the story on Sam without having to fit in a role for Sidney. Campbell's absence also opened the opportunity to switch up the final girl more often. If Sam can replace Sidney in Scream as the final girl and the film still works, then anyone can come in and replace Sam if filmmakers think that's the right decision.
2 Sam Carpenter Is Scream's New Focus
Scream 5 shifted its focus from Sidney to Sam, but when Sidney didn't appear at all in Scream 6, it solidified Sam as the new final girl. Since Scream is no longer following Sidney's story, there are a lot of roads it could go down. Sam is the daughter of Billy Loomis, the original Ghostface killer in the first Scream. Throughout Scream 5 and Scream 6, she's struggled with understanding if she is evil like her dad or if she's good. Without Sidney, the film can explore more of Sam's story and her family dynamic.
This allows the film to go deeper than a "whodunnit" slasher film and dive into some even heavier topics. If Campbell ever does return to Scream, the film may still choose to focus on Sam, meaning Ghostface could kill Sidney, and it wouldn't hurt the franchise. Sam as the new Scream protagonist also gives filmmakers a slew of new motives to explore.
1 Scream Can Have 2 Final Girls
In Scream 5, Ghostface went after Tara in the opening scene. However, Ghostface was more interested in terrorizing Sam. In Scream 6, Tara became a more central character with her sister, and the two worked together to defeat the three Ghostface killers. Their dynamic is reminiscent of Sidney and Gale Weathers' relationship, but Gale has always felt more like a legacy character than a final girl. With Scream 6, the film has proven there can be more than one final girl. In future Scream movies, Ghostface might have a motive that sends them after both girls, and by final girl standards, they'll both fight him off and survive.
However, since Scream never follows the rules, the film can also choose to kill off one of the final girls, leaving the other to fight on their own. This would be groundbreaking for the franchise and wouldn't have been possible before Scream 6 when Sidney was the final girl. Having two final girls is an interesting route to take, and eventually, fans might get bored seeing both of them survive every killing, making the theory one will eventually get killed off more realistic.