Bella Thorne Explains Why She Had To Turn Down The Lead In The ‘Scream’ Series

Bella Thorne has a small but memorable part in the new television adaptation of the Scream franchise, but the teen actress says she turned down a chance at a much bigger role.

Thorne plays Nina Patterson, who follows in the footsteps of another famous actress with a brief appearance in Scream.

[WARNING: Spoilers ahead]

Thorne is killed in the first scene of the show, just as Drew Barrymore died in the opening sequence of the original Scream movie. Thorne has been open about her brief appearance in the television show but recently revealed that she was originally supposed to have a much larger role.

In a Facebook Q&A with fans, Bella Thorne revealed that she was supposed to play the lead role but was too young to relocate so she could shoot on a full-time basis.

ET explained the situation.

“What fans didn’t realize at the time, was that dying in the first scene wasn’t supposed to happen. Originally approached to play Emma Duvall, Thorne turned down the chance to play the show’s lead (and good girl) at the center of Lakewood’s high school murders. ‘It just didn’t end up working out relocation-wise. I just couldn’t do it,’ said Thorne, who at 17 years old is the same age as the teens being terrorized in the show. ‘I’m too young to relocate [to Baton Rouge, La., where Scream is filmed].’

“‘I love my mom and my brother. Although that sounds very immature, I’m still a kid at heart,” she added. ‘I like being home in my bed and I can’t lose my brother just yet. We’re best friends.'”

Bella Thorne certainly has the background to have played the role. Though still just 17, she has a deep resume of horror films, including Amityville: The Reawakening and Home Invasion.

But Thorne also left the door open to return to the Scream series at some point — though most likely in flashbacks.

“I can or can’t say that I’ll be back… maybe or maybe not,” she teased to fans.

Though she may have missed out on Scream, Bella Thorne still has plenty of work to keep her busy, including one project with a famous Hollywood second generation star. She has been cast opposite Patrick Schwarzenegger in the young adult movie Midnight Sun, which is based on a Japanese movie about a teenager who must hide in her house because she has a disease that makes the sun potentially deadly.

[Image via Getty Images/ Neilson Barnard]