How Scream VII Lost Both of Its Leading Sisters in 48 Hours
The Scream franchise has officially lost its new generation of survival girls. In a stunning one-two punch for the horror franchise, both Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega—who played sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter in the soft-rebooted slasher series—have exited Scream VII within days of each other, leaving the future of the $169 million franchise in total chaos.
The Dismissal: Melissa Barrera Fired Over Social Media Posts
The dominoes began to fall when production studio Spyglass abruptly fired lead actress Melissa Barrera. The decision stemmed from Barrera’s recent social media posts regarding the Israel-Palestine conflict.
According to reports, Barrera shared several Instagram stories, including one stating, “Gaza is currently being treated like a concentration camp,” and another that read:
“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.”
Spyglass quickly issued a decisive statement defending the termination, drawing a hard line on the actress’s rhetoric:
“Spyglass’ 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.”
The Exit: Jenna Ortega Departs for Wednesday
Just twenty-four hours after Barrera’s firing made headlines, news broke that Jenna Ortega would also not be returning for the seventh installment. However, sources indicate that Ortega’s exit is unrelated to the political controversy surrounding her on-screen sister.
According to Deadline, Ortega’s departure has actually been in negotiation since before the SAG-AFTRA actors’ strike even began. The Emmy-nominated actress requested to be let out of her contract due to massive scheduling conflicts with Netflix’s mega-hit series, Wednesday.
Ortega’s packed schedule includes:
-
Wednesday Season 2: Production is slated to begin in Ireland this April and run through the summer.
-
Beetlejuice 2: Ortega still has a few final days of shooting left on the Tim Burton sequel.
What’s Next for Scream VII?
With both Carpenter sisters officially out, Scream VII director Christopher Landon briefly took to social media to express his frustration. In a now-deleted post on X (formerly Twitter), Landon wrote:
“Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.”
The franchise is now at a massive creative crossroads. With its two primary box-office draws gone, Spyglass is reportedly expected to “recalibrate plans” entirely. Whether that means a complete narrative reboot, the return of legacy characters, or scrapping the current script remains to be seen. One thing is certain: Ghostface is going to need a brand-new target.
