Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, More 'Scream' Stars Remember Late Director Wes Craven: 'Like a Father'

Wes Craven was "like a father" to his Scream cast.

On Monday, Paramount Pictures released a behind-the-scenes featurette from the upcoming fifth Scream movie, out Jan. 14, titled "For Wes," in which the original cast discuss how the sequel honors the late director. Craven, who died of a brain tumor at age 76 in 2015, directed all four Scream movies, plus scary movie classics like A Nightmare on Elm Street.

"Wes Craven, you always think of him as the king of horror," Courteney Cox says in the video. "He is an incredible director, but he is also an incredible human."

David Arquette then gets emotional, saying, "I might start crying when we start talking about Wes." Adds Neve Campbell, "He was like a father, in a lot of ways, to all of us."

Ready or Not filmmakers Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin direct the next Scream, for which the three O.G. stars reprise their characters. Kevin Williamson, who wrote the original Scream, teased to Entertainment Tonight about the new film, "The movie is a love letter to Wes. It's a tribute in a beautiful way. They have a really nice tribute planned for him and I don't want to give it away but the movie is 100 percent dedicated to Wes Craven."

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Campbell, 48, told Entertainment Weekly in October that she was reassured to join the project by the new directors, who are longtime fans of Craven and screenwriter Williamson's original creation.

"I genuinely was in two minds," Campbell said. "The idea of making these films without Wes Craven seemed challenging to me. I loved the man very much. But Matt and Tyler wrote me a letter, speaking of their appreciation and great respect for Wes Craven, and speaking of the fact that the very reason that they are directors today was because of these movies and because of Wes, and that meant a great deal to me."

Cox, 57, also felt Craven's absence on set after they had worked with him on the first four Scream movies.

"From the second I walked on the set, I felt extremely emotional and felt a real missing and longing for him," Cox told EW. "He had such [a] special, kind and caring quality about him, not to mention his incredible talent as a filmmaker. I looked up to Wes immensely professionally but also as a friend. I feel Wes would be so happy with the way Matt and Tyler have rebooted this franchise."

Scream is in theaters Jan. 14.