Warning: The following article contains spoilers for Scream VI.

For five films, the Scream franchise has featured the main final girl of the series, Sidney Prescott as played by Neve Campbell. She wasn’t the main focus of the fifth movie, as Scream (2022) saw newcomers Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara (Jenna Ortega) hunted by the new Ghostface, with the legacy characters relegated to the supporting cast.

It was revealed while Scream VI was in production, that Neve Campbell would not be reprising her role in the sixth installment of the franchise. This was an unfortunate blow to the film for most fans, as Campbell said: “I felt the offer that was presented to me did not equate to the value I have brought to the franchise.” 

The absence of Sidney Prescott is undoubtedly the worst thing about the movie, which is otherwise quite good. You can read about it in our review here. But, you might be wondering if Scream VI addresses Sidney’s absence at all, and why she isn’t in New York with the rest of our characters. So, let’s take a look at Scream VI and tell you how they explain Sidney’s absence. 

How does Scream VI explain the absence of Sidney Prescott? 

Sidney’s presence is felt all throughout the film, culminating in a museum of what is essentially her life at the end of the movie. Her absence from the film is addressed when Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) appears. The sisters ask whether Sidney has come alongside Gale, to which she replies that she hasn’t, instead she took “Mark and the kids” and went into hiding when she realized that yet another Ghostface had surfaced. 

If you do not remember Mark, the film is referring to Detective Mark Kincaid, who appeared in Scream 3 as played by Patrick Dempsey. He was not in the last two films after scheduling conflicts stopped him from returning in Scream 4. Mark was mentioned in the last movie briefly, during a phone call between Dewey and Sidney. It’s nice to know that they settled down with some kids and that the entire family was safe during the sixth round of Ghostface killings.

If they do make a seventh installment of the franchise, which is looking likely if the critical reception is anything to go by, they should bring Sidney back by paying Campbell what she is due. Hopefully, we won’t have to write a similar version of this article when Scream 7 comes out. 

You can go catch Scream VI in theaters when it arrives on March 10, 2023.

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