The horror genre has been thriving for years now, to the joy of fans like me. Many of the best horror movies have gotten new sequels during this renaissance, including Wes Craven's Scream. A seventh movie is currently on the way, and Jenna Ortega explained her decision to drop out of the slasher franchise as Tara Carpenter.
What we know about Scream 7 is limited, but the project will not feature Ortega or Melissa Barrera, who starred as the Carpenter Sisters in the last two movies (streaming with a Paramount+ subscription). While anticipation for the upcoming horror movie is still high, it's definitely a bummer that those two scream queens won't be back. While speaking with The Cut about her new movie Death of a Unicorn, Ortega explained her decision, offering:
It had nothing to do with pay or scheduling. The Melissa stuff was happening, and it was all kind of falling apart. 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.
That was certainly honest. While Jenna Ortega's departure from Scream 7 was originally cited as a scheduling issue with Wednesday Season 2, it sounds like it was actually the actress' call. And she seemingly didn't want to do a third movie after Melissa Barrera was fired and the directors behind Radio Silence departed.
Given how much Jenna Ortega's starpower has been growing over the past few years, it feels like her career could go seemingly anywhere. Given that, as well as the behind the scenes changes surrounding Scream 7, and she ultimately decided not to reprise her role as Tara for the next movie in the beloved franchise.
Back in 2023, it was revealed that Radio Silence wasn't returning to direct Scream 7, with that job (temporarily) going to Christopher Landon. He would also bail on the project, but not after Ortega joined her onscreen sister in departing the forthcoming slasher project.
While Scream 7's cast list has plenty of returning legacy characters, smart money says that Ortega's absence is doing to be felt. After all, the last two movies were very much focused on Sam and Tara's relationship. And when Neve Campbell departed Scream VI over a pay dispute, their importance to the franchise as a whole became even more obvious.
In the end, both Jenna Ortega and the Scream franchise will likely be just fine. Campbell is returning as Sidney in Scream 7, and OG writer Kevin Williamson is directing. We'll just have to see if the Carpenter sisters get mentioned at all in the sequel.
Scream 7 is currently expected to arrive in theaters on February 27th, 2026, and is therefor not part of the 2025 movie release list.
You must confirm your public display name before commenting
Please logout and then login again, you will then be prompted to enter your display name.
