The Scream franchise is losing another lead actor.
via: Deadline
Jenna Ortega, who was a lynchpin draw in getting Scream VI to the horror franchise’s best opening grosses ever at $44.4M stateside, $67M global, isn’t expected to return for Scream VII, we hear from sources.
This has nothing to do with the fallout from Melissa Barrera‘s firing yesterday by Spyglass Media over that actress’ social media repostings on the Hamas-Israel conflict; nor does it have to do with the actress asking for an end to her Scream contract. Ortega and Barrera played sisters in 2022’s Scream and this year’s Scream VI respectively as Tara and Sam Carpenter.
We understand that Ortega’s exit from the next Scream was discussed before the actors strike. A script for Scream VII is not ready yet, and the Primetime Emmy nominee has to head to Ireland in April to shoot the second season of Netflix’s Wednesday which will go into the summer. Additionally, Beetlejuice post SAG-AFTRA strike had a few extra days of shooting in order to meet its Labor Day 2024 theatrical release.
No news yet on the Scream 7 schedule, however, one thing is clear for Ortega post the success of Wednesday and her star blasting off: The world is her oyster when it comes to future roles.
Yesterday, in response to Barrera being dropped from Scream VII, Spyglass issued the 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.”
Christopher Landon, the new director on Scream 7, posted on X, and then removed the Tweet, “This is my statement: Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.”
Spyglass did not return request for comment. Ortega is repped by CAA.
