Kevin Williamson has addressed the shock departures of Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega from Scream 7, calling it “kind of a bummer” and explaining how their exits changed the direction of the movie.
Scream 7 – aka Scream VII – was supposed to focus on Sam Carpenter and Tara Carpenter, played by Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, respectively.
But Barrera was dropped from the film over a series of social media posts concerning the Gaza War. Ortega then left over what she referred to as the “Melissa stuff,” as well as the departure of directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett.
The movie was quickly retooled, with Scream legend Neve Campbell returning as Sidney Prescott, while Kevin Williamson – who wrote the original Scream – ended up on directing duty.
Kevin Williamson calls departures of Scream stars “kind of a bummer”
Speaking to ScreenRant about the chain of events, Williamson said: “After we lost Melissa and Jenna, and it just looked like we weren’t going to see the Carpenter sisters in a third movie, it was kind of a bummer. It’s like, ‘What do we do next?’
“And then this idea to bring Sidney Prescott back – and not just bring her back, but to focus on her character, tell her story of who she is today – that got really exciting for me. And I think other people got really excited about it.
“Then they started writing a script. Jamie came up with this great story – Jamie Vanderbilt and Guy Busick – and they started to write this script, and it just sort of took on a life of its own. And then Neve read it and heard the pitch, and she signed on. And I was still just the executive producer who was just sort of there, watching from the sidelines.
“And then Neve called me one day and said, ‘I think you should direct this.’ And I went, ‘No, no, no, no, no… okay, I’ll do it.’”
Scream VII hits screens on February 27, 2025. Until then, find out which other Scream legend is returning for the sequel and check out our rundown of the best horror movies ever.
