A year and a half later, we finally have an explanation as to why Jenna Ortega left Scream 7. The actress was part of 2022’s Scream revival, as well as its sequel, 2023’s Scream VI. Both movies were tremendously successful, with Paramount quickly giving the green light to a third installment. It was assumed that Melissa Barrera and Ortega would return. That didn’t happen, with Ortega departing the project in November 2023.
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Ortega’s exit came just a day after it had been revealed that Barrera had been dropped from the sequel. More on that in a moment. In the aftermath, Paramount struggled to put together a new version of the sequel, which hinged on bringing back Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott once again. In a recent interview with The Cut, Ortega gave a direct answer as to why she left the franchise behind.
“It had nothing to do with pay or scheduling. The Melissa stuff was happening, and it was all kind of falling apart. If Scream VII wasn’t going to be with that team of directors and those people I fell in love with, then it didn’t seem like the right move for me in my career at the time.”
As for the “Melissa stuff,” the actress was fired from the franchise over social media posts in support of Palestine, as well as her harsh criticism of Israel. Spyglass, the producer of the series, released a statement after the time regarding her firing.
“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.”
To say that the situation has been messy would be a dramatic understatement. Many people came out in support of Barrera after her firing. Whatever one thinks of the situation, both actresses have moved on. Barrera starred in Abigail and Your Monster last year, with other projects on her to-do list currently.
Meanwhile, Ortega is one of the most in-demand actresses in Hollywood right now. She helped make Beetlejuice Beetlejuice a big hit last year and is currently in production on Wednesday season 2 for Netflix. She most recently starred in A24’s Death of a Unicorn, which is in theaters as we speak.
As for Scream 7, it’s being directed by Kevin Williamson, who wrote the script for director Wes Craven’s original slasher classic. Quite a few familiar faces are returning for the sequel including, rather surprisingly, Matthew Lillard as Stu, who has seemingly been dead since the first film. David Arquette’s Dewey is also due to return, despite being very clearly dead. We’ll have to wait and see what Williamson has up his sleeve.
Scream 7 is currently set to hit theaters on February 27, 2026. For more, check out our list of horror movies coming your way in April.
