Scream Star Mikey Madison Didn’t Want Her Character to Kill David Arquette

Mikey Madison didn’t realize her role in 2022’s Scream would have such a devastating impact.

“I have to be honest, when I did the film, it sounds naive, but I wasn’t so aware of the huge fan base that the franchise has, that I’ve now been able to discover,” Madison told Collider. And who can blame her — the Anora star wasn’t even born when the first and second films released in 1996 and 1997.

“Scream and horror fans and people who love horror films are the best people ever, but I really naively went into it,” Madison continued.

In Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett’s 2022 installment of the slasher franchise, Madison’s Ghostface character killed beloved Sheriff Dewey Riley, played by David Arquette.

“I remember being kind of sad because I was like, ‘Oh, such a great character. It’ll be sad to see him go.’ And then I realized afterward the heartbreak that so many people felt,” Madison said. “People have come up to me, and they’re like, ‘I hate that this happened. I’m mad at you.’ And I’m like, ‘I’m so sorry, I didn’t write the script!’ I didn’t want to do it.”

Elsewhere in the interview, Madison recounted her audition process for Scream, which was one of the actress’ first major movie roles.

“I had auditioned. I sent in a tape, and then I heard nothing for, like, eight months or something, and I’d pretty much forgotten about it,” she said. “Then they came back, and they were like, ‘Hey, would you want to be in this film? The character would be the Scream Ghostface character.’ I was like, ‘Yeah, that sounds really fun. I would absolutely like to do that, and I specifically would love to play this Ghostface character,’ because it’s such an interesting, fun reveal, and it’s such a crazy, unpredictable arc for a character, as well. I think that those films are so self-aware in a way where all the actors know exactly what kind of movie they’re in, and you’re able to have fun with it.”

2022’s Scream also starred Jenna Ortega, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, Melissa Barrera and Jack Quaid.