Director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day, Freaky) recently revealed his departure from Scream 7 on X/Twitter, citing the job as a dream turned nightmare. Landon expressed his disappointment for everyone involved with the movie, and emphasized his respect for Wes Craven’s legacy.
The news was dropped on his X/Twitter account on Christmas Eve. “I guess now is as good a time as any to announce I formally exited ‘Scream 7’ weeks ago. This will disappoint some and delight others. It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare. And my heart did break for everyone involved. Everyone. But it’s time to move on.”
“I have nothing more to add to the conversation other than I hope Wes’ legacy thrives and lifts above the din of a divided world. What he and Kevin created is something amazing and I was honored to have even the briefest moment basking in their glow.”
Before Landon’s exit, the “Scream” franchise was already facing upheaval with the firing of Melissa Barrera (All The World Is Sleeping, Carmen), who also starred in the fifth and sixth installments of the movie, due to her controversial social media posts related to Israel and Palestine. Spyglass, producer of Scream 5 to 7, clarified that her dismissal was based on concerns of antisemitism rather than her support for the Palestinian cause.
A spokesperson for Spyglass provided a statement. “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.”
Landon tweeted out on X/Twitter “Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.” responding to Barrera’s exit, although the tweet has since been deleted. Subsequently, Barrera’s co-star Jenna Ortega (Stuck In The Middle, Wednesday) left the franchise due to scheduling conflicts with “Wednesday” Season 2, unrelated to Barrera’s firing and planned before the SAG-AFTRA strike.
The 2022 Scream reboot featured both Barrera and Ortega, Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and fresh additions to the series Mason Gooding Jr. and Jasmine Savoy Brown. Campbell had declined to return for Scream VI over a pay dispute, marking it the series’ first without her. Scream VI concluded positively for characters Tara and Sam Carpenter, played by Ortega and Barrera respectively, who triumphed over the Ghostface killer and reconciled in the film.
Kaylyn is usually geeking out over gacha games or the latest updates in a manga, and can talk all day about them. She’s also an avid collector, and really needs more space to store her game merchandise, utaite CDs and manga books.
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