Scream 7 director Kevin Williamson addresses Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera’s exits
Following the pair's exit from the movie in 2023, Scream 7 director Kevin Wilson has said it was "kind of a bummer" when Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera left the project.
Scream 7 director Kevin Williamson has admitted it was “kind of a bummer” when Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera left the movie.
Ortega, 22, and Barrera, 34, had portrayed the Carpenter sisters in 2022’s Scream and Scream VI in 2023, though the latter actress exited the upcoming sequel after Spyglass Media Group dismissed her following her controversial comments about the war in Gaza.
Shortly after, Ortega parted ways with Scream 7, though the Wednesday star’s exit has never been officially explained.
Now, Williamson, 60, has recalled the confusion he felt about what to do with Scream 7 after Ortega and Barrera left the flick.
Speaking with Screen Rant, the filmmaker said: “It was sort of, ‘Well, what’s going to happen?’
“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?’”
Following Ortega and Barrera’s departure, Williamson and writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick decided they wanted to bring back Scream queen Sidney Prescott - as portrayed by Neve Campbell - for the upcoming slasher.
He explained: “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.
“And 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.”
As well as Campbell - who had sat out Scream VI due to a pay dispute - other franchise legends are slated to return for Scream 7, including Courteney Cox’s Gale Weathers, Matthew Lillard’s Stu Macher, David Arquette’s Dewey Riley and Scott Foley’s Roman Bridger.
Recently, writer Busick teased there was a “really specific reason” for Sidney Prescott’s return.
The scribe told ComicBook.com: “I don’t want to give anything away about the reason [Scream 7] had to be a Sidney movie because there’s a really cool reason.
“In all these movies, you have to ask, ‘Why now? What is the thing Scream is commenting on now?’
“Scream is always in a conversation with the audience about the state of movies, the state of horror movies and in particular, franchises.”
Busick added: “There is a really specific reason why Sidney is in this movie. I will say there is a reason and we were happy with it when we cracked it.
“We went to Neve Campbell and said, ‘This is why. This is why Sidney now.’ Neve was like, ‘Oh, I get that.’
“I pitched Kevin this first, too. He got it and then I pitched the studio. I came up with the story with my co-writer on 5 and 6, James Vanderbilt.”
