Fans of the horror franchise Scream were left devastated when news broke in November 2023 that one of its leading stars Jenna Ortega would not return for the seventh instalment.
Just one day after reports her co-star Melissa Barrera had been fired, it was reported Ortega had dropped out of Scream VII due to her schedule.
However, in a new interview, Ortega has revealed the real reason she left the franchise, confirming “it had nothing to do with pay or scheduling.”
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“It was all kind of falling apart,” Ortega candidly told The Cut.
“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.”
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Scream VI directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, will not return for Scream VII.
Instead, Kevin Williamson will direct the upcoming film.
The seventh instalment will also not star Barrera, who led the fifth and sixth movies.
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Ortega and Barrera starred as sisters Tara and Sam Carpenter respectively.
Deadline reported at the time Ortega’s exit was due to her busy work schedule and not related to Barrera’s exit.
Barrera was reportedly cut from Scream VII by Spyglass Media Group following her social media comments about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
In one Instagram Story post in October 2023 following the October 7 Hamas attack, Barrera accused Israel of “genocide and ethnic cleansing”. 
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Scream star confirms return amid casting controversy
“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,” Spyglass said in a statement after Barrera’s firing.
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In an interview with The Independent Barrera opened up about the year since being dropped from the franchise, admitting it was the “darkest and hardest year of my life, and I had to reevaluate everything.”
“There were times where I felt like my life was over.”
Scream VII is set to release in February 2026 with original star Neve Campbell returning.
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