Jenna Ortega exits Scream VII due to scheduling after Melissa Barrera fired
Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera in Scream VI (Paramount Pictures)
Jenna Ortega has officially exited Scream VII just hours after news broke that her co-star Melissa Barrera had been fired by Spyglass over pro-Palestine comments.
The two actresses starred in the reboot of Wes Cravenās franchise as sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter in Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023).
Both had been scheduled to return for Scream VII, directed by Christopher Landon, which was confirmed to be in development in August.
However, now the film is undergoing a full creative rejig after Spyglass lost both stars in just one week.
Deadline confirmed on Wednesday (22 November) that Ortega had dropped out of the seventh film in the Scream franchise due to a scheduling conflict with her other projects.
Ortega is also set to star in season two of Netflixās Wednesday as well as Beetlejuice 2 – both of which, had to halt production due to the lengthy SAG-AFTRA strikes this year.
While Beetlejuice 2 had just one day left of production when the strikes began, Wednesday is scheduled to begin filming in Ireland next summer.
But, while sources point to Ortegaās busy schedule as the reason behind her exit from the horror franchise, fans canāt help but note the coincidental timing.
Just one day before Ortegaās departure was announced, Spyglass confirmed that they had fired her co-star Barrera over pro-Palestine comments she had shared on social media.
Barrera is the latest celebrity to make headlines for their stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict since tensions reignited in the region following the terrorist groupās attack on 7 October, which saw 1,200 Israelis killed.
According to the official United Nations Humanitarian site, as of 10 November, the Ministry of Health in Gaza reported 11,078 deaths since 7 October, almost half of whom are children. The latest report from Associated Press says health officials have since lost the ability to count the dead.
On her Instagram story, Barrera shared support for an immediate ceasefire, images and videos of the destruction in Gaza, and labelled the ongoing attacks on Palestine as āgenocide and ethnic cleansingā.
In a statement to Variety about Barreraās dismissal, Spyglass made their stance āunequivocally clearā.
A spokesperson said: āWe have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion, or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech.
āIn the wake of the Oct. 7 Hamas terror attacks and Israelās subsequent attacks on Gaza, Barrera has been posting on her Instagram about the conflict, accusing Israel of āgenocide and ethnic cleansingā and distorting āthe Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industryā.ā
Barreraās firing has been met with intense backlash from Scream fans, who are now threatening to boycott Scream VII, and calling on Barreraās castmates to walk.
Landon, who is set to direct Scream VII, reacted to the news in a now-deleted post, writing: āEverything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.ā
Fans have pointed out that Ortega has been vocal in her support of Palestine for years, having signed an open letter calling for an immediate ceasefire just last month. Now, many are raising questions on the timing of the Wednesday starās exit from the franchise.
Now, after losing their two leading ladies, Variety reports that Spyglass is undergoing a full reboot of Scream VII and searching for two new protagonists.
Among those in the running to possibly make a return to the franchise are OGs Courtney Cox and Neve Campbell – the latter of whom pulled out of Scream VI due to a salary dispute – and Scream III star Patrick Dempsey. For now, Spyglass has no comment.
Scream VII is currently slated to hit cinemas in 2025, but with casting and re-writes on the cards, Landon and his team are up against the clock.
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