Jenna Ortega Explains Why She Left ‘Scream 7’ With Melissa Barrera: ‘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," the actress says The post Jenna Ortega Explains Why She Left ‘Scream 7’ With Melissa Barrera: ‘It Was All Kind of Falling Apart’ appeared first on TheWrap.

Apr 7, 2025 - 16:33

Jenna Ortega Explains Why She Left ‘Scream 7’ With Melissa Barrera: ‘It Was All Kind of Falling Apart’

Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera became the faces of the “Scream” franchise with their back-to-back stints as the Carpenter sisters in “Scream” (2022) and 2023’s “Scream VI.” However, their familial bond extended off camera as well, because once Barrera was removed from “Scream VII” due to her pro-Palestine social media posts, Ortega followed suit.

“It had nothing to do with pay or scheduling,” the “Wednesday” actress told The Cut in an interview out Monday. “It was all kind of falling apart.”

As Ortega explained, “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.”

Indeed, filmmakers Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett first exited the iconic horror movie franchise after directing the two modern iterations led by Ortega and Barrera in August 2023. They have since been replaced by original scribe Kevin Williamson, who wrote the first, second and fourth “Scream” films, after interim director Christopher Landon also exited after the actresses did.

And while Barrera was fired by Spyglass in November 2023 with Ortega quitting later that same month, “Scream VII” will notably see the return of Neve Campbell as final girl Sidney Prescott. Courteney Cox, Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown will also reprise their roles from the latest movie.

But regardless, Ortega’s career is doing just fine — she has “Death of a Unicorn” currently in theaters, “Wednesday” Season 2 coming later in 2025 and even joined Tim Burton’s world of “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” just last year.

“I’ve happened to join a lot of franchises, which is so great to be a part of legacy,” Ortega shared. “But for me, I’m really trying to prioritize new directors and original stories. I know on the outside, maybe people are looking at my choices like, ‘Man, what the hell is this girl doing?’ I never thought I would do a movie with unicorns. But an original script is exciting. If I can help get it made, I love to do that.”

“Scream VII” hits theaters on Feb. 27, 2026.

The post Jenna Ortega Explains Why She Left ‘Scream 7’ With Melissa Barrera: ‘It Was All Kind of Falling Apart’ appeared first on TheWrap.