Neve Campbell says she'll be in Scream 8, and that's really all she'll say
The final girl is back. Campbell confirmed her return as Sidney Prescott in an AP interview this week, while Spyglass still hasn't hired a director.
In brief
Neve Campbell says she'll be in Scream 8, and that's really all she'll say
Four words. That's all Neve Campbell gave the internet, and four words turned out to be plenty.
Deadline reports that Campbell told the Associated Press this week she is returning as Sidney Prescott in Scream 8. The quote, now everywhere: "You know I can't tell you anything about Scream 8. I'll be in it."Variety confirmed the news independently, and by Tuesday morning it had lapped the usual horror-news cycle and landed squarely in mainstream entertainment conversation.
Campbell made the confirmation during an AP interview promoting her role in the Netflix series Black Doves, whose second season returns this month. Asked to list her upcoming projects, she answered: "I've got two shows I'm developing, one I've sold. Scream 8, you know, that's in the pipeline as well." When a reporter pushed for details, she laughed and said: "You know I can never tell you anything about Scream 8... I'll be in it."
The confirmation matters for a few reasons, and not all of them are obvious.
The long road back to Woodsboro
Campbell did not reprise her role as Sidney Prescott in Scream VI (2023) due to a pay dispute, making that the only film in the franchise not to feature her. She came back hard for Scream 7. According to Variety, Campbell secured a deal close to $7 million for Scream 7 after sitting out the sixth movie, while Courteney Cox was reportedly paid $2 million.
The gamble paid off for Paramount. The film received generally negative reviews from critics but became the highest-grossing film in the franchise's history and the second highest-grossing slasher film in unadjusted dollars, grossing $214 million worldwide against a production budget of $45 million. Put simply: centering Sidney Prescott works at the box office. The question now is whether the team behind Scream 8 can get her a good script to go with that box-office credibility.
What's still missing
Everything, basically, besides Campbell's name on the call sheet.
Spyglass Media and Paramount's Scream 8 doesn't even have a director yet. At last report in March, Spyglass hired Poker Face showrunners Lilla and Nora Zuckerman to pen the script, though at the time there was no word which characters the eighth entry would focus on.
The news comes after Kevin Williamson ruled himself out of directing Scream 8. The filmmaker, who wrote the original 1996 film and the second and fourth movies in the franchise, returned to co-write and direct Scream 7, but he is planning to step back from the series and focus on other projects.
So: no director, no announced cast beyond Campbell, and a script still in progress from a TV writing team best known for a Peacock murder mystery. That's not unusual for a franchise at this stage. It is a little unusual to have your lead actress publicly confirm her involvement before the studio has formally announced anything. Campbell's doing this her way.
The pattern here is interesting
The 53-year-old actress first appeared as Sidney Prescott in the original 1996 horror film and reprised the role in four sequels, sitting out the sixth installment due to a pay dispute. Every time the franchise has tried to move on without her, it has eventually come crawling back. Scream VI made $167 million globally without Sidney. Scream 7 made $214 million with her. The math has spoken.
In 2022, Campbell told Variety that she would not be returning for the sixth installment because she felt "the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise." The studio eventually agreed with her, in dollar terms. What's striking now is that she's confirming Scream 8 in the middle of a press tour for a Netflix show, almost as a footnote, with a laugh. The leverage has fully flipped.
Horror fans have mixed feelings about how far the series can stretch Sidney's story. Some observers have argued that stretching the character further risks repeating old formulas. The Zuckermans' job is to prove those people wrong. They have a franchise record to defend and a final girl who clearly isn't ready to put down the phone.
Campbell returned for Scream 7, released in February 2026, which focused on Sidney and her on-screen daughter Tatum, played by Isabel May. Whether May returns for the eighth film is one of several open questions the studio hasn't addressed. With Sidney confirmed to return, the immediate focus shifts to who will direct. No timeline has been announced.
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CAN I KICK IT? screens New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument, on Aug. 22. (Courtesy SHAOLIN JAZZ)
The live-cinema series CAN I KICK IT? returns to the National Mall this month with what its producers are calling the "Gangsters on the Mall" chapter of their free outdoor summer run. On Saturday, August 22, the SHAOLIN JAZZ production brings the 1991 crime classic New Jack City to the Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument for a night of film, music, and community under the DC summer sky.
What sets the event apart is the sound. As the film plays, DJ 2-Tone Jones builds an original score in real time, reimagining one of the most iconic crime movies of the ’90s through hip-hop, soul, funk, and more. It is less a movie screening than a live performance built around the film.
The details:
Film: New Jack City (1991), with a live soundtrack by DJ 2-Tone Jones
When: Saturday, August 22 — seating opens at 7:30 p.m. (bring lawn chairs and blankets); film begins at 8:30 p.m.
Where: Sylvan Theater at the Washington Monument, Independence Ave SW & 15th St NW
A parking note from the organizers: expect road closures and restricted parking east of 14th Street NW due to a separate race event in the District. Roads west of 14th Street NW will be accessible and available for parking.
New Jack City is the second of three screenings in this year’s free CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series, which opened with Black Panther at Skyland Town Center and concludes with Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial on September 5. Produced by the Washington, DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, the series has presented more than 150 live cinematic experiences at venues across the country, from Lincoln Center to SXSW.
"I wanted to be able to tell good stories with substance and remove the ‘ego’ out of the art," said Andrew Huang during a recent interview. Now, he’s building his career at the intersection of discipline, creativity and innovation.
Andrew Huang, founder of New Place Studios. (Courtesy photo)
As a Chinese American, Huang was reared with a deep respect for hard work, consistency and excellence. He describes his childhood as "not so affluent" and later attended college to hone his passion for videography. "In college I tried to do something I loved, which was video, but along the way I knew that I had to find a job. And so I thought, ‘what was the low hanging fruit to get to that stable 9 to 5 job?,’" he stated.
Later in life, Huang found himself working for corporations where his creativity was often limited, eventually leading to burnout. "I worked in a corporation for a long time and there were a lot of missing pieces. I wanted to fill in gaps missing in corporate video production," said Huang.
He later described how his upbringing and a mindset of "survival" led him toward a corporate career. However, his desire for balance and authentic storytelling ultimately pushed him to take the entrepreneurial leap.
"I founded a new place where you can create video and film with ‘substance and style,’" said Huang. His desire for work-life balance and passion for storytelling naturally evolved into a small business based in Virginia. With the launch of New Place Studios, the entrepreneur quickly found himself reconnecting with the values that would become the foundation of everything he creates behind the camera.
Huang said being a business owner has allowed him to first embrace himself. While others may see video as simply capturing moments, he sees it as a way to preserve stories that inspire, connect and leave a lasting imprint.
By combining cinematic visuals with cutting-edge production techniques and a keen understanding of branding, Huang helps organizations and individuals communicate their vision with purpose. He said understanding a client’s "why" serves as the compass for delivering the services they need.
One benefit of working with a small business, he said, is that clients get to see the production process unfold through a micro lens while working with the same faces throughout the entire project. "The work feels personal," said Huang.
Huang does not regret leaving behind the flash-over-substance mentality and corporate hustle culture. That does not mean the Asian American entrepreneur has been without challenges in the industry. "It’s relatively hard to find other Asian American creatives or people who would want to work with me in the DMV," said Huang.
He identifies the industry culture in which everyone is trying to blend in, creatives may fear displaying their Asian identity and some feel pressure to adopt an American corporate persona. He also points to what he describes as a level of gatekeeping within the industry. According to the U.S. Small Business Administration’s 2024 statistics, Asian American and Pacific Islander entrepreneurs own more than 3 million businesses and employ 5.2 million people in the United States.
After tapping into organizations such as SCORE, which offers free small business mentorship, New Place Studios has become a trusted creative partner throughout the DMV (Washington, D.C., Maryland and Virginia). The company produces a range of creative services, including commercials, corporate branding, documentaries, film, 2D animation, motion graphics and photography.
For Huang, entrepreneurship has become more than a departure from corporate life. It has given him the freedom to create with intention, build meaningful connections and tell stories that go beyond the surface.
The 2026 CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
For three Saturdays this summer, some of Washington’s most familiar public spaces will do something they rarely do after dark: fill up with blankets, lawn chairs, and the sound of a movie being scored live, in real time. CAN I KICK IT?, the traveling “live cinema” series produced by the DC-based multimedia arts company SHAOLIN JAZZ, is bringing a free outdoor run to the city — pairing three era-defining films with an original soundtrack performed on the spot by DJ 2-Tone Jones.
The premise is what sets it apart from a normal screening in the park. Rather than simply pressing play, 2-Tone Jones builds a score as the film unfolds, pulling from hip-hop, soul, funk, jazz, rock, electronic music, and sounds from around the world. The result, the organizers say, is less a movie night than a one-time performance — the same film you know, wired to a soundtrack you have never heard and will not hear again. Guest DJs warm up the crowd starting at 7:30 PM before each 8:30 PM screening.
The 2026 outdoor schedule
All three events are free and open to the public.
Saturday, August 8 — Black Panther at Skyland Town Center. A pop-up marketplace and community activities kick off the evening; guest DJs at 7:30 PM, film at 8:30 PM. Marvel’s superhero epic gets a one-night-only live score in Southeast DC.
Saturday, August 22 — New Jack City at the Sylvan Theater, Washington Monument. Seating begins at 7:30 PM; the film starts at 8:30 PM. The 1991 crime drama plays out at the foot of one of the country’s most recognizable landmarks.
Saturday, September 5 — Scarface at the Lincoln Memorial. Seating at 7:30 PM; film at 8:30 PM. The series closes with Brian De Palma’s crime saga against the backdrop of the Memorial, scored live from start to finish.
First up: Black Panther at Skyland Town Center on August 8. Poster courtesy of SHAOLIN JAZZ.
A DC company with a national footprint
SHAOLIN JAZZ describes itself as a Washington-based arts company working at the intersection of music, film, art, and culture, and CAN I KICK IT? is its signature production. According to the organizers, the series has staged more than 150 live cinematic experiences around the country — at performing arts centers, museums, festivals, and cultural institutions including Lincoln Center in New York, SXSW, the Denver Center for the Performing Arts, Republic Square in Austin, the Tacoma Armory, and The Cary Theater.
“CAN I KICK IT? has always been about creating a shared experience,” said Gerald Watson, co-founder of SHAOLIN JAZZ. “When you combine iconic films with live music in public spaces, something special happens. People aren’t just watching a movie — they’re experiencing it together. That’s what makes these nights so memorable.”
Cinema as a community event
The DC run lands as cities across the country look for new ways to activate public space through arts and culture — and this series is a straightforward pitch for how to do it: take a landmark everyone already knows, add a film everyone has an opinion about, and let a live soundtrack turn the evening into something neighbors experience shoulder to shoulder. Families, film buffs, and music fans are all invited, and admission won’t cost a thing.
The CAN I KICK IT? outdoor series runs August 8, August 22, and September 5. All events are free; check SHAOLIN JAZZ (shaolinjazz.com) for the latest details and any weather updates before heading out.
