Warning: This article contains spoilers for the most recent Scream movie.
Courteney Cox is full of praise for new Scream directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett — but she did have one quibble with the franchise's latest film: the decision to definitively kill off the character of Dewey Riley, the now ex-cop portrayed by Cox's real-life former husband David Arquette.
"It was sad, because Dewey is such a beloved character and he's so goofy, and I thought he brought such a comedic twist to the whole franchise," the actress, who has played journalist and author Gale Weathers in all five Scream films, said on the most recent episode of the Just for Variety podcast. "I think that was really — that was a downer."
:max_bytes(150000):strip_icc()/GettyImages-1374450935-fb911bdf4f964f05bf4e4e57d7fcc180.jpg "Courteney Cox fought to keep a major 'Scream' character alive in new movie (1)")
In the movie, Dewy is fatally stabbed by Ghostface. However, Cox revealed that she suggested the filmmakers shoot footage to hint to audiences at the end that Dewey is actually still alive.
"I absolutely did, and I kind of thought they heard me," the actress said. "I remember being on the lawn going, 'I just thought it was a big mistake not to have the option. I understand why you want [to do it] — it makes it really serious. But then wouldn't it be great if just [in] the last three minutes: text from the hospital.' I wanted that to happen."
Addressing Dewey's death, she said, "It just feels strange."
In January, Gillett told EW how he felt about killing off Dewey when he got to the scene in the film's screenplay, which was written by James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick.
"It was f---ing gut-wrenching, reading it in the script!" said the filmmaker. "It was like, we loved it, and we hated it, and it was brutal, and we also knew that we had to make a choice like that in this movie. I think what Guy and Jamie did so well is that they structured it in a way that it's essential, right? The only possible thing that could get Sid [Prescott, played by Neve Campbell] back to Woodsboro is the loss of a dear friend and a real connection to her roots."
He added, "For as much as it was just absolutely gutting, quite literally, to shoot that scene, it also felt like it was essential. The movie has to be willing to take risks, and it has to show the audience that no one is safe."
Gillett's fellow director Bettinelli-Olpin revealed that Arquette himself had mixed feelings about Dewey's death.
"I think there was some nerves about it," he said. "I don't think it was wholly embraced, you know, by David, or by us, for sure. There were nerves of, 'Is this the right thing?' In our first conversation with David, he said, 'Think about it, think about it.' But he understood that, in order for it to be a real Scream movie, and for it to have the teeth that Scream has, that this kind of thing needed to happen. He also loved the progression that Dewey had in the story, in the arc that got told over the five movies, and so I think he was on board, but he was also sad about it like we all are."
Cox also confirmed on the podcast that she will return for the next Scream film, which Bettinelli and Gillett will again direct from a script by Vanderbilt and Busick.
"I got the script yesterday," said the actress, who is currently starring on the Starz horror-comedy show Shining Vale. "I haven't read it yet. I just got it, and I'm so used to getting, you know, Shining Vale scripts, which are 26 pages, and I'm, 'Whoa, I've got to read a script.'"
She added that the next Scream installment will likely start filming this June in Canada.
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