Not only will Melissa Barrera be absent from Scream VII, but it has just been revealed that Jenna Ortega will also not be reprising her role in the popular franchise.
Following the death of director Wes Craven in 2015, the fifth instalment of the beloved meta-horror series was put in the hands of Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The pair directed 2022’s Scream and 2023’s Scream VI.
These movies brought in new main characters, Tara and Sam Carpenter, played by Ortega and Barrera, respectively. The sisters are vital to the direction of the post-Craven Scream movies, yet neither will be present in the upcoming Scream VII, set to be directed by Christopher Landon.
Ortega has not given a concrete reason for leaving the series, although some reports suggest that filming simply clashes with the production of Netflix’s hit show, Wednesday, of which she is the main star.
Other sources have claimed that Ortega’s salary request was too high. However, her departure is not related to Barrera’s removal from the franchise.
Barrera, who plays the secret daughter of the original Ghostface Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), was asked to leave Scream VII by Spyglass after they deemed her comments on the Israel-Hamas war anti-Semitic.
The sixth instalment of Scream did not feature franchise protagonist Sidney Prescott, played by Neve Campbell. However, there are now rumours that the producers are looking to bring Campbell back, although there have been no discussions with the star as of yet.
