In 2022, Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Media revived the Scream franchise with a new entry (the fifth) that was a box office hit, earning almost $139 million at the global box office. Fourteen months later, Scream VI came along – and became an even bigger hit, pulling in almost $169 million at the global box office, a number that was up there with the series’ heyday, when the first Scream and Scream 2 made just over $170 million. (Scream 3 also made over $160 million – only Scream 4 failed to crack $100 million.) So, of course, the companies are moving full steam ahead with Scream 7. While the movie seemed, initially, to be on the fast-track to success, the track it’s on has turned out to be a shockingly bumpy ride.
MELISSA BARRERA FIRED
Melissa Barrera entered the franchise with the fifth Scream as a character named Samantha Carpenter, who turns out to have been the daughter of original Ghostface killer Billy Loomis and Christina Carpenter, a character who has not yet appeared on screen in any of the films. Barrera was back as Sam in Scream VI and was expected to return for Scream 7… but she won’t be. On November 21st, Spyglass Media confirmed that Barrera had been fired from the project. Their reasoning: “Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We 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.” Apparently Barrera had made comments on social media regarding the situation in Israel and Gaza that didn’t go over well with Spyglass. Her response to the firing was, “Silence is not an option.“
When Barrera was still expected to be in the movie, she was hoping Samantha’s mom Christina (who is also the mother of Sam’s sister Tara, played by Jenna Ortega) would be showing up in the film as well. She even knew who she’d like to see play Christina: Salma Hayek. That’s very unlikely to happen now. Barrera was also hoping the next sequel would explore Sam’s mental health.
Whatever the case, Barrera does not seem to have been slowed by her firing, with her joining a pro-Palestinian protest at Sundance, where her latest (well-received) movie Your Monster premiere. She’s also got another movie with her Scream directors Radio Silence, coming out in April. That film, Abigail, is getting good buzz and she’s been front and center in the advertising campaign. Many of the stars seem to be on Barrera’s side, with her recently reuniting with much of the cast at a gala event, while Hayden Panettiere, who co-stared in Scream VI, called it “unfair and upsetting”.
JENNA ORTEGA WANTED (AND DESERVED) MORE MONEY
The day after Melissa Barrera’s firing was confirmed, it was revealed that her co-star Jenna Ortega had also exited the project. In addition to playing Tara in the Scream movies, Ortega plays the title character in Netflix’s Addams Family series Wednesday – and since season 2 of Wednesday is scheduled to film in Ireland through the spring and summer next year, her Scream 7 absence is blamed on scheduling conflicts. About a week later, it was confirmed that Ortega, who is also a lead in Beetlejuice 2, wanted a substantial salary increase. Spyglass, who seem to be rather tight-fisted with actor salaries, refused, so Ortega walked away. So we won’t be seeing either of the Carpenter sisters – who formed the “core four” group of characters with the Meeks-Martin twins (played by Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown) – in this next film. Last we heard, Gooding and Brown hadn’t even been contacted about reprising their roles.
NEVE CAMPBELL TO RETURN… WITH PATRICK DEMPSEY?
Neve Campbell played heroine Sidney Prescott in the first five Scream films, and was expected to reprise the role of Scream VI… but then she dropped out of the sequel over a pay dispute. When asked if Campbell might be brought back for a Scream 7 or if the filmmakers had given up on her, Bettinelli-Olpin replied, “We’d never give up on her. We love Neve, and we love Sidney. So we’d love to be able to make another movie with her, and we’re not giving up.“ Original Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson, who has been involved with several of the sequels in some capacity, has spoken out in support of Campbell. He said, “I totally respect her opinion… I know exactly where she’s coming from, I know her well. I love and adore her and that’s what she did. It’s right for her. I love everyone involved in Scream and all I can say is, pay her the money. That’s what I would do, I would give her the money.” For her part, Campbell holds no ill will towards the films, recently praising the sixth film.
With Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega out of Scream 7, new reports suggested that Spyglass was looking to bring Sidney Prescott back into the picture, trying to entice Neve Campbell to return… along with newly minted Sexiest Man Alive, Patrick Dempsey, who played her love interest in Scream 3. The character, a cop named Mark Kincaid, is widely believed to be married to Sidney in the Scream universe, with her name-dropping her husband, Mark, in the fifth film. Most fans believe she’s referring to Dempsey’s character, and that the two got married and started a family following the third film.
We don’t yet know if Dempsey is going to be in the movie (we hear he’s in talks), but on March 12th, Campbell took to Instagram to officially confirm that she is going to be starring in the new sequel.
Courteney Cox is believed to be a lock to return to the role of author and reporter Gale Weathers… which would make sense, because Cox has never missed out on any of these movies.
WHO IS THE DIRECTOR?
While the first four Scream films were directed by the late, great Wes Craven, Scream (2022) and Scream VI were both directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who form the Radio Silence team with producer Chad Villella. At the Scream VI premiere, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett were asked about the possibility of Scream 7 happening. They replied, “We hope (there will be a Scream 7). We want to be watching Scream movies, whether we’re involved or not, for the rest of our lives.” They wanted to direct the next sequel, but they got wrapped up in making their Universal Monster movie Abigail (a project once known as Dracula’s Daughter). Radio Silence remains attached to the project as executive producers. The first choice to replace Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett at the helm was Christopher Landon, the director of Happy Death Day and Freaky. But as the project fell apart around him with the exit of Ortega and the firing of Barrera, he abandoned ship. A rumor claimed that John Hyams, who previously collaborated with Kevin Williamson on the slasher movie Sick, was being considered for the directing job, with his competition being an “unidentified female director.”
But the job didn’t go to Hyams or a female director; instead, Kevin Williamson is going to be directing the film! In addition to writing the original Scream, Williamson has also written I Know What You Did Last Summer, Scream 2, The Faculty, and Halloween H20 (where his script contribution were uncredited). He wrote the initial drafts of Scream 3 and Scream 4, then those both received some major rewrites. For Scream 7, he’ll be working from a screenplay by 2022’s Scream and Scream VI writer Guy Busick, who crafted the story with his co-writer on the fifth and sixth films, James Vanderbilt. (Vanderbilt is also a producer on the most recent sequels.) Williamson made his directing debut with the 1999 thriller Teaching Mrs. Tingle. Twenty-five years later, Scream 7 will be his second directing credit.
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