Neve Campbell is set to make a thrilling comeback as Sidney Prescott, facing a more terrifying nightmare than any she has endured in her previous six encounters.

Paramount Pictures released the first spine-chilling trailer for “Scream 7” on Thursday, marking Campbell’s triumphant return to the iconic role that crowned her as a horror genre icon. Her return comes after her absence from “Scream VI” due to intense contract negotiations.

The trailer wastes no time in reminding fans of Sidney Prescott’s status as the franchise’s ultimate survivor, continually haunted by the threat of a deranged masked killer.

In this latest saga, Sidney, while living a quiet life away from Woodsboro, is shown ready to protect her daughter, played by Isabel May, when a new Ghostface emerges.

Fans are in for a treat, as Sidney’s return is not the only surprise. This installment boasts perhaps the most shocking lineup of returning stars in the franchise’s history.

Legacy cast members Matthew Lillard, David Arquette, and Courteney Cox are all set to appear in this eagerly anticipated slasher film, promising a nostalgic yet thrilling ride for audiences.

Cox once again steps into the frenzy as relentless journalist Gale Weathers, who is always ready to chase truth through carnage. 

But it’s the other familiar faces that have horror die-hards buzzing and asking questions as Arquette and Lillard’s characters, Dewey Riley and Stu Macher, both died in previous films.

Dewey tragically fell in Scream V and Stu infamously met his end via a TV set in the 1996 original.

Campbell confirmed in March 2024 that she would reprise her role in the Scream franchise after exiting the film series in a row over her salary. 

‘Hi all. I’m so excited to announce this news!!! Sidney Prescott is coming back!!!! It’s always been such a blast and an honor to get to play Sidney in the Scream movies,’ she wrote on Instagram, at the time. 

‘My appreciation for these films and for what they have meant to me, has never waned. I’m very happy and proud to say I’ve been asked, in the most respectful way, to bring Sidney back to the screen and I couldn’t be more thrilled!!! Well actually I could. 

‘While I’ve been so incredibly lucky to make these films with both the master of horror Wes Craven and the wonderfully talented Matt and Tyler team, I’ve dreamt for many years of how amazing it would be to make one of these movies with Kevin Williamson at the helm.

‘And now it’s happening, Kevin Williamson is going to direct Scream 7! This was his baby and it’s his brilliant mind that dreamt up this world.

‘Kevin is not just an inspiration as an artist but has been a dear friend for many years. To the amazing Scream fans, I hope you are as excited as I am. See you on set @kevwilliamson.’

Campbell played lead character Sidney Prescott over the span of five films over more then two decades but announced in 2022 that she would not appear in the sixth installment.

The star played lead character Sidney Prescott over the span of five films over more then two decades but announced in 2022 that she would not appear in the sixth installment. 

She said the difficult decision was the result of failed salary negotiations that she blamed on rampant ‘gender inequity’ in the movie business.

Campbell was left ‘feeling undervalued’ as she’d served as the lead character in a horror franchise that’s grossed nearly $1 billion.

But the Canadian star previously insisted that she ‘[doesn’t] wish these movies ill will’ and revealed that she recently watched Scream 6 for the first time.

‘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,” she told fans at Monster-Mania Con earlier this month.

She said that she doesn’t know why it ‘took me a minute’ to finally see it but she was left impressed it.

Scream VI features a star-studded cast that includes: Wednesday star Jenna Ortega and The Babysitter’s Samara Weaving.

It also saw the return of franchise vets Courteney Cox, Skeet Ulrich and Hayden Panettiere.

It premiered in theaters on March 10, 2023 and made $169 million at the worldwide box office on a reported $24 million production budget.

‘I actually thought they did a really good job,’ said Campbell. ‘I think the cast are really powerful, wonderful actors.’

Regardless of whether she’s in the film or not, Campbell said she deeply cares about ‘all the people involved’ and only takes issue with the studio executives that shot down her salary request.

‘There’s someone at the top who only thinks about money and that’s their prerogative. 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,’ she concluded.

Last year, Campbell further explained her decision to leave the cult horror that made her famous.

Speaking with PEOPLE, the Canadian actress doubled down on previous comments about walking away from her role as Sidney Prescott due to a salary dispute.

‘I love this franchise. I’m so grateful for it, but at the same time, I really just couldn’t bear the idea of walking onto it and feeling undervalued,’ she explained.

She reiterated that it was solely due to not being paid the amount of money she felt she deserved for her contribution.

‘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.

‘And as a woman in this business, I think it’s really important for us to be valued and to fight to be valued.’

Campbell said that she felt lowballed due to gender inequality, stating: ‘I 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 I was offered would be the number that would be offered to a man.

‘And in my soul, I just couldn’t do that.’

Scream hit theaters in December of 1996 and made a massive splash, taking in $173 million worldwide on a budget of $14 million, according to Box Office Mojo.

The Wes Craven-directed film featured an ensemble cast including Arquette, Cox, Rose McGowan, Drew Barrymore and Campbell, and spawned three sequels: 1997’s Scream 2, 2000’s Scream 3 and 2011’s Scream 4. 

A troubled Sidney and her boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) went upstairs to get intimate but shortly afterwards he was stabbed by Ghostface.

Sidney stumbled downstairs and after taking a gun owned by police officer Dewey (David Arquette) is left baffled when her friends Stu and Randy (Jamie Kennedy) both accuse each other of being the killer.

She then finds Billy injured but alive, he then takes the gun and says ‘we all go a little crazy sometimes’ and shoots Randy, revealing he faked his injuries with corn syrup and that he and Stu are the killers.

They plan to kill Sidney and frame her father Neil for the murder spree, while also admitting they murdered her mother Maureen for having an affair with Billy’s father.

A bloody struggle ensues with Stu being stabbed by Billy and Billy eventually shot through the head by Sidney.

In 2023, Melissa Barrera was fired from Scream 7 after she shared pro-Palestine content to her social media accounts.

Barrera was dropped by production company Spyglass in late 2022 over what they said ‘crossed the line into hate speech’, and shortly after she was given the axe, her costar Jenna Ortega and director Christopher Landon left the project as well.

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Barrera responded to ‘Holocaust distortion’ accusations made by Spyglass and also talked about her friendship with Ortega, who departed Scream 7 on account of scheduling conflicts. 

‘When Spyglass fired you from Scream VII, they accused you of a number of things, including “Holocaust distortion.” I couldn’t find any evidence of this and actually found the opposite. That’s a crazy thing to accuse someone of without evidence. They tried to kill your career,’ Rolling Stone told Barrera. 

Barrera described being floored by it all: ‘Yeah. I appreciate you. I’m not the first person that’s happened to, but it was shocking. I don’t even know what to say. I think everything that happened was very transparent, on both sides, and I know who I am, and I know that what I said always came from a place of love and a place of humanity and a place of human rights and a place of freedom for people, which shouldn’t be controversial.

‘It shouldn’t be up for debate. So, I’m very at peace. The people who know me in my family know the truth about me and where I stand, and I think most people in the world also do.’

Barrera also reflected on her friendship with Ortega, describing her as a ‘good egg’ who has her back.

Ortega departed Scream 7 shortly after Barrera’s firing, citing scheduling conflict with her series Wednesday as her reason for leaving. 

‘I know reports at the time claimed that she was already exiting, but that didn’t seem like the whole story. It seemed like there was some sisterhood-solidarity going on,’ Rolling Stone said of Jenna. 

‘Listen, Jenna is a good egg. She’s a good person and we love each other. She would show up for me and I would show up for her no matter what,’ Barrera said of her former co-star. 

She addressed being fired over supporting a ceasefire as well: ‘It’s for the well-being of both sides of that wall, you know? An end to the violence. That’s it. An end to the violence for everyone’s peace and security. Just… humanity.’

Barrera said the controversy helped shed light on who her true friends were.

‘One hundred percent. It’s great. It’s like a filter. It’s very important, in this industry, to know who you can count on and who you can’t, and who you wanna work with and who you don’t,’ she said. 

Barrera starred in the last two films in the horror franchise as Sam Carpenter and had been about to shoot the next before being dropped by Spyglass.