Scream 6 cast: do Neve Campbell and David Arquette star with Courteney Cox, Jenna Ortega, Hayden Panettiere?

More than 25 years after the iconic horror movie parody Scream arrived in cinemas, a sixth instalment is being released, with one original cast member reprising their role. The series will also star several popular actors who were not even born when the first, or even third film, in the franchise was released.

Scream 6 follows the survivors of the fifth film as they leave Woodsboro behind for a fresh start in New York City - however, they find themselves once again pursued by a menacing Ghostface killer.

Scream is one of the most popular horror franchises of all time, having made more than $750 million worldwide, more than Final Destination, The Ring, and A Quiet Place.

This is everything we know about the cast of Scream 6 - and why two of the original cast are not expected to return for the latest film:

Who is in the cast of Scream 6?

Melissa Barrera as Sam Carpenter

Barrera, who first appeared in Scream 5 will be returning as Sam Carpenter, the estranged older sister of Tara. In the last film, villains Richie and Amber attempt to frame Sam for the killings, but she is able to kill Richie and escape.

Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers

Courteney Cox is the only original cast member confirmed to be returning for Scream 6 - Gale has featured in all the previous films and is a five times survivor of various Ghostface killers. In the last film she shoots Amber and sets her on fire in order to save her friends.

Jenna Ortega as Tara Carpenter

Wednesday star Jenna Ortega first joined the Scream franchise for the fifth film and she is reprising her role as Tara Carpenter for number 6. In the brutal final showdown in Scream 5, Tara finished Amber off with a bullet after Gale had set the villain alight.

Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin

Brown returns as Mindy, having appeared in the previous film. Mindy is another Woodsboro resident who, along with her twin, is targeted by a new Ghostface. In Scream 6, Mindy joins the other main characters in a move to New York, though Ghostface is never far behind.

Mason Gooding as Chad Meeks-Martin

Gooding also reprises his role as Mindy’s twin Chad - both he and Mindy survived Ghostface’s attack in Scream 5 but will be in mortal danger again in the newest film.

Is David Arquette in Scream 6?

David Arquette has starred as Dewey Riley in the first five Scream movies however, his character was violently killed in the Scream 5 which was released last year. But Dewey’s demise hasn’t stopped fan speculation that the character could return in the latest instalment.

Speaking to ComicBookMovie.com, Arquette said of a possible return for Dewey: “Who knows, anything is possible. I mean, how many movies have Jason or Mike Myers been in? Not that Dewey’s a killer, but there is a coming-back-to-life element within these horror films."

It’s possible that Dewey could also make a return in the form of flashbacks if his character isn’t brought back from the dead, but currently Arquette is not confirmed to appear in Scream 6.

Why isn’t Neve Campbell in Scream 6?

Neve Campbell, who played Scream antagonist Sidney Prescott in all of the films to date, told People that she won’t be returning for the sixth film because she felt ‘undervalued’ by the studio.

She said: “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.

“I honestly don’t believe that if I were a man and had done five instalments of a huge blockbuster franchise over 25 years, that the number that I was offered would be the number that would be offered to a man.

“And in my soul, I just couldn’t do that. I couldn’t walk on set feeling that — feeling undervalued and feeling the unfairness, or lack of fairness, around that.”

When is Scream 6 in cinemas?

Scream 6 will land in cinemas in the UK on Friday 10 March - it is likely to arrive on streaming platform Paramount+ in early May.