The Scream 7 cast list may exclude another actor from the past two films following Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega’s exit from the franchise.
Highlights
Scream 7 may not include Jasmin Savoy Brown, who co-starred in the previous two films alongside Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera.
The previous two films in the Scream franchise were positively received by critics and fans, with significant box office success.
There has been controversy surrounding the departure of Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega from Scream 7, with the director Christopher Landon also leaving the project. The future of the franchise is uncertain.
The Scream 7 cast may not include Mindy Meeks-Martin actress Jasmin Savoy Brown, who co-starred with Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera in the previous two films.
Over 10 years after the fourth Scream film, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett revived Wes Craven's beloved Scream franchise with Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023). While featuring some returns from legacy Scream characters, the reboots introduced a new slate of actors led by Ortega and Barrera, who played sisters Tara and Sam, with Brown and Mason Gooding, who played twins Mindy and Chad. Though others appear, they get killed off, leaving those deemed the "Core Four" standing at the end of both movies.
At the 2024 Emmys, Brown was asked by Entertainment Tonight about her hopes for future Scream installments. She hopes the Core Four's achievements will "be celebrated forever," saying she's proud to have four people of color leading the horror film. The cast happily reunited at MPTF's 17th Annual Evening Before Gala on January 13, with Brown saying the unplanned picture-worthy meet-up made her happy to see her "family." Regarding her involvement in Scream 7, she told ET she has yet to receive a call about a deal, saying, "If you want to ask Spyglass what they're doing, you can."
Spyglass has been under fire after letting Barrera go back in November for her social media posts related to the Isreal-Hamas war in which she showed support for Palestine, followed by the announcement of Ortega's coincidental departure a day later, reportedly due to scheduling conflicts with Wednesday and Beetlejuice 2. Christopher Landon, the director attached to Scream 7, made it clear he had nothing to do with the decision in a since-deleted X/Twitter post. On December 23, Landon confirmed his exit from Scream 7, claiming it was "a dream job that turned into a nightmare," leaving the franchise's future in shambles. A full creative reboot with a new script will now be in the works by screenwriters James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, but a new director has not yet been attached.
Now, eyes are on Scream veteran Neve Campbell, who plays Sidney Prescott, to return after turning down Scream 6 over a salary dispute. Campbell was recently asked at the BAFTA Tea Event on January 13 about Scream's future potential, telling IndieWire it's sad to see them struggle after their years of success. She claims she'd return "given the right circumstances," echoing a statement she made years ago about the different treatment she would've received if she had been a man "carrying a franchise for 25 years." Now, some people are speculating if Campbell's circumstances to return would include bringing Barrera back.
Fans believe, to move forward, the franchise would need another full reboot and perhaps a new production company to back it. While people would like to see the Core Four characters return in Scream 7, it doesn't seem plausible any time soon. Considering some characters have heavy plot armor attached to them, including Mindy and Chad, seeing some of them return to become victims themselves interests the horror franchises' fanbase, with Sidney reprising her role as the main character. The amount of legacy characters they have left also proves that an entirely new cast may not be needed. However, theorizing aside, most people don't want a new Scream without Barrera's absence being resolved in one way or another, as plenty are still unhappy with her firing.
Scream 7 is in development at Paramount.
The Scream movie and TV franchise began with the release of the first film in 1996. Directed by horror master Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson, the deconstruction of slasher movies was an instant cultural, critical, and financial hit. Neve Campbell, who plays ongoing final girl Sidney Prescott, has become a horror icon in her own right, along with Ghostface, the only horror villain whose identity is always changing. Nearly three decades later, the Scream franchise shows no signs of slowing down.
Source: Entertainment Tonight