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Neve Campbell is one of the most beloved Scream Queens of the industry, with her recurring "Scream" role of Sidney Prescott ranking #2 on /Film's list of best Final Girls in the horror genre. But before she could do that, there was another actress cast as Sidney, someone who could've easily become the face of the franchise instead if she hadn't decided to switch things up: Drew Barrymore. Yes, Drew Barrymore, the It Girl of the '90s. She was the obvious choice to lead a movie like this. Her name would easily draw in viewers, and, thanks to her early breakout role with "E.T." over a decade earlier, audiences had a built-in connection with her for the movie to capitalize on. The movie wouldn't have to work too hard to establish her character as likable because everyone already liked Drew Barrymore. But early into production, Barrymore realized she didn't want to play Sidney. She wanted to play the opening victim, Casey Becker, who stars in one of the most suspenseful horror sequences of all time. As she recalled in a 2011 interview with Entertainment Weekly, "I just read the script one night at my house and I just said, 'Oh my God, there hasn't been anything like this for so long.' I loved that it actually got tongue-in-cheeky, but it was still scary." In a 2021 oral history from The Ringer, screenwriter Kevin Williamson talked about how he wasn't disappointed by Barrymore wanting to change her role; he was ecstatic because he'd always wanted a big name dying in that opening scene. He explained, "I wanted it to be this big, huge Janet Leigh moment. And then when she dies, you're like, 'Wait a second. Wasn't she on the poster? Wait. What's going to happen next?'"
