Credit: Radio Silence Productions / Paramount Pictures / Spyglass Media GroupIt’s now official: Jenna Ortega has left the Scream horror franchise and will not appear in the upcoming seventh installment. Given that Spyglass Media Group just very publically fired Melissa Barrera, the co-lead of the series, many are now speculating that Scream is over just as its reboot picked up steam.
We reported last night that Melissa Barrera had been abruptly fired from Scream VII by Spyglass Media Group, the production company behind the series (which is distributed by Paramount Pictures, who have been pretty quiet about all this so far).
Barrera was fired after she posted a number of pro-Palestine sentiments, ultimately leading up to a now-deleted Instagram story that stated, in part, “Censorship is very real” and that she could not find “videos and information about the Palestinian side.” Crucially, she also stated that “western media” suppressed information and “Why they do that, I will let you deduce for yourself,” which many took to be an allusion to a common anti-Semitic conspiracy theory.
Related: Billie Eilish Replaces Jenna Ortega in ‘Wednesday’ as Netflix Fires Cast
The actress was dropped by Spyglass, who issued a statement reading, “[Our] 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.”
Scream VII director Christopher Landon posted on Twitter regarding the firing, saying only, “This is my statement: 💔 Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.”
Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera have starred in both Scream V (2022) and Scream VI as Tara and Sam Carpenter, estranged sisters who find themselves targeted by a new version of the Ghostface killer. The reboot of the iconic 1990s horror series (which also stars Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding) has been immensely successful, with both movies so far grossing well over $100 million on modest budgets.
Inside the Magic also reported on the immediate rumors that Jenna Ortega was also leaving the series. Many Twitter users claimed that the Wednesday star had asked to be dropped from her contract to appear as Tara Carpenter in Scream VII in solidarity with Melissa Barrera.
Now, it has been confirmed that Jenna Ortega will not return for the next movie, but that her departure was in discussion for months prior to her co-star’s firing (via Deadline). Additionally, insiders report that the film does not yet have a finished script, and Ortega’s contractual obligations to the second season of her hit series Wednesday and the upcoming Tim Burton movie Beetlejuice 2 are actually the primary reason for her dropping out.
However, this has not stopped more social media speculation, this time that the studio was already attempting to sideline Melissa Barrera in favor of Ortega. Twitter user @TheRochaSays posted, “This smells fishy to me. I’d heard that there were internal production discussions about moving Jenna to the front over Melissa for future #Scream films. So maybe they used her politics as a convenient excuse to get her out and not look like a horror movie villain themselves???”
This smells fishy to me.
I'd heard that there were internal production discussions about moving Jenna to the front over Melissa for future #Scream films.
So maybe they used her politics as a convenient excuse to get her out and not look like a horror movie villain themselves??? https://t.co/cvC8AcYjBi pic.twitter.com/5dIZy5msoc
— John Rocha aka The Outlaw Nation (@TheRochaSays) November 21, 2023
Related: Iconic Star Speaks Out as Jenna Ortega Threatens To Quit
Others, like @memeforhire, refuse to believe that this was not part of Barrera’s firing, saying, ““jenna ortega not returning for scream 7 has nothing to do with melissa barrera’s firi-” what a crock of s***. you really expect me to believe jenna walking less than 24 hours after melissa’s firing is a coincidence when she herself is also openly pro-palestine?!? GET REAL!!!”
“jenna ortega not returning for scream 7 has nothing to do with melissa barrera’s firi-” what a crock of shit. you really expect me to believe jenna walking less than 24 hours after melissa’s firing is a coincidence when she herself is also openly pro-palestine?!? GET REAL!!! pic.twitter.com/eYo3Kjuskq
— patback (@memeforhire) November 22, 2023
One thing is certain: the Scream franchise just lost its two leads in less than a day. Few series could survive losing two major stars and continuing on, particularly with Jenna Ortega skyrocketing to global fame and the studio getting mired in global politics. Maybe Ghostface made his final appearance sooner than anyone thought.
Inside the Magic will continue to report on this developing story. Comment your thoughts below!