Courteney Cox Seen In 1st Photos On Set Of ‘Scream 6’ After Neve Campbell Exits Movie

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Courteney Cox confirmed in July 2020 that she would reprise her role of reporter Gale Weathers in Scream 5, 24 years after starring in the original film. Then, shortly after the well-received release of the film in January, the next Scream sequel was confirmed, with Courteney, 58, ready to come back again. Now, the first images of her on set in Montreal, Canada have been captured. The photographs, which were obtained by the Daily Mail and can be seen here, show the actress looking smart in a light blue pantsuit practicing live shots with a microphone in hand outside of what appeared to be city hall. She paired the fashionable outfit with lime green high heels.

Courteney has returned for each Scream film, but Scream 6 will be missing one of its key original cast members: Neve Campbell, who played Sidney Prescott in the previous five movies. “Sadly, I won’t be making the next Scream film,” Neve said in a statement to HollywoodLife on June 6. “As a woman I have had to work extremely hard in my career to establish my value, especially when it comes to Scream. I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.”

She continued, “It’s been a very difficult decision to move on. To all my Scream fans, I love you. You’ve always been so incredibly supportive to me. I’m forever grateful to you and to what this franchise has given me over the past 25 years.”

Some of Neve’s former co-stars reacted to her declination of the role and supported her decision. “I’d love for her to be a part of it. A Scream movie without Sidneyis kind of unfortunate, but I understand her decision,” David Arquette, 50, said during an interview with ComicBook on  June 6. “It’s all a business in a way, they have to balance all these elements to fit a budget and produce a film. I get it, she’s still alive!” he continued. “She [can] absolutely be in future ones, but I think it’s up to fans to call for that in the future. I respect her decision, for sure.” David is one of the original Scream actors, and his character, Dewey Riley, was brutally murdered by Ghostface with two knives in the fifth film, marking his exit from the franchise.

Sarah Michelle Gellar, 45, who appeared in Scream 2 as Cici, also weighed in on the situation. “Neve is a really smart, amazing human and I’m sure that for whatever reason, whether personal or professional, I’m sure she had a very valid reason because she loves her audience and she loves her fans and she’s very proud of those movies,” she told HollywoodLife EXCLUSIVELY on June 24. “So without, without knowing any of the story I can say that.”

Meanwhile, fans eagerly await the next installment in the franchise. While the details of the plot are largely unknown, Courteney revealed in March that the writing is “really good” in a chat with Entertainment Tonight.