Jenna Ortega Not Returning For 'Scream 7' Amid News Of Melissa Barrera's Firing
By Favour Adegoke on November 22, 2023 at 5:45 PM EST
Actress Jenna Ortega might not return for the seventh installment in the iconic "Scream" franchise. Reports claim that her exit was already a topic before the actors strike because Ortega is scheduled to film season two of "Wednesday."
Ortega and co-star Melissa Barrera were critical to the successful transformation of the "Scream" franchise, and their films were global successes.
Along with the shocking news of Ortega's exit, Barrera was fired yesterday by the studio for her stance on the Israel-Hamas conflict. The actress released a statement in support of Gaza and its people, and Spyglass Studio immediately condemned her position. However, fans have expressed support for Barrera on social media.
Jenna Ortega Is Dropping Out Of 'Scream VIII'
Jenna Ortega, the young actress who's taken the film world by storm, is reportedly dropping out of "Scream VIII." According to Deadline, Ortega and Scream executives had already discussed her exit from the hit horror franchise before the recently conclusive actors and screen writers guild strikes.
The script for "Scream VIII" is still under production, and Ortega is scheduled to be in Ireland by April 2024. The actress will be filming the second season of Netflix's hit series "Wednesday," of which she plays the titular character. This has caused a conflict in the shooting schedule for the two projects, and it seems Ortega has made her choice.
While there's no news on "Scream 7" yet, Ortega has been booked and busy. With the end of the strike, the actress has to wrap up the final days of shooting for "Beetlejuice" to ensure it meets the slated Labor Day 2024 release date.
There's also heavy anticipation for season two of "Wednesday" after the first season earned Ortega a Comedy Series Actress Primetime Emmy nomination and a Golden Globe Comedy TV Actress nomination.
Jenna Ortega And Melissa Barrera Transformed The 'Scream' Franchise
Ortega was a key figure in the successful transformation of the Scream franchise. Due to the amazing performances from her and co-star Melissa Barrera, the horror franchise had its biggest opening grosses from "Scream VI." The film earned a total of $44.4M stateside and $67M globally.
Ortega and Barrera first played sisters Tara and Sam Carpenter, respectively, in "Scream 2022" and again in "Scream VI." With the anticipated success of the seventh film, the franchise stands to hit and surpass the $1 billion global mark at the box office. The six films released so far currently stand at $911M.
Melissa Barrera Was Controversially Fired From The Franchise
Prior to the news of Ortega's reported exit, it was announced that Barrera was fired from "Scream 7." The firing came after the actress's controversial social media statements on the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict. However, Ortega's exit from the Scream franchise reportedly has nothing to do with Barrera's firing.
According to Deadline, the studio behind the film, Spyglass Media, decided to remove Barrera because of her stance on Instagram. The actress made a post on her Instagram Stories, which read, "Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp. Cornering everyone together, with nowhere to go, no electricity no water … People have learnt nothing from our histories. And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING."
In a subsequent post, the "In the Heights" actress also shared a photo of a placard that read "Palestine WILL be free." Barrera also added, "They tried to bury us, they didn't know we were seeds."
Scream Executives Have Issued Statements On Melissa Barrera's Firing
After the news of Barrera's firing, Spyglass issued a statement saying their stance on her statement is "unequivocally clear."
They wrote, "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."
The "Scream 7" director, Christopher Landon, also posted a brief statement on X and later deleted the tweet. It read, "This is my statement: Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make."
Several fans on social media tweeted in support of Barrera amidst the firing. They shared a post from the actress' IG stories that went viral as they seemingly addressed her firing from the film. It read, "At the end of the day, I'd rather be excluded for who I include, than be included for who I exclude."
