Setting ‘Scream 6′ in New York City Makes the Franchise ’20 Times More Mortifying… It’s Awful,’ Says Melissa Barrera

The long-running “Scream” franchise is moving out of Woodsboro and coming to New York City for its upcoming sixth installment. It’s a creative decision that will make the franchise all the more terrifying, says cast member Melissa Barrera. No “Scream” film has ever been set in the big city.

“It’s like 20 times more mortifying,” Barrera told Collider about setting the new “Scream” film in New York City. “It’s awful. Because you also see how, in a city like New York City, everyone is kind of doing their own thing and someone is screaming for help, and no one will come to their help.”

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Barrera continued, “No one comes to help them, you know, like, everyone’s kind of like, ‘I’m not getting into that.’ So it’s mortifying, because you’re chased by Ghostface, but you also see humanity and how that reacts in a situation like that. Anyway, I think I’ve already probably said too much.”

Barrera starred in the fifth “Scream” movie, simply titled “Scream,” opposite Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding. That filmed revived the franchise earlier this year with strong reviews and $140 million at the worldwide box office. All four actors will be returning for “Scream 6,” as will franchise mainstay Courteney Cox. Original star Neve Campbell intended to join “Scream 6,” but exited the sequel over a deal she thought was beneath her value to the franchise.

“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,” Campbell said earlier this year. “And as a woman in this business, I think it’s really important for us to be valued and to fight to be valued.”

“It was shocking, but also, as a woman, I get it,” Barrera previously told Variety about Campbell’s departure. “Especially as a woman of color, I deal with that stuff all the time where I feel like they’re not paying me what I know that I’m worth. But usually for me, I feel like it’s because I’m a Latina, and they don’t value us as much as white women. So if Neve being a white woman is feeling undervalued, that just goes to show how much of a problem it is in the industry. I applaud her sticking to what she believes in.”

“Scream 6” will follow the quartet of survivors from the fifth movie as they leave Woodsboro behind and attempt to start a fresh chapter. Ortega teased the film over the summer by calling it the bloodiest “Scream” entry yet.

“Ghostface gets a lot more intimidating,” Ortega said of the “Scream 6” script. “I just read part of the script, and it just gets more and more gory. I think that this is probably the most aggressive and violent version of Ghostface we’ve ever seen, which I think will really be fun to shoot.”

Paramount Pictures has set a March 31, 2023 release date for “Scream 6.”

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