Scream 7 Director Leaves, The Series Is Dead?
Scream 7 director Christopher Landon has announced via social media that he has officially departed from the production. The decision was made after two of the film’s stars, Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera departed the film allegedly due in large part to studio interference and behind-the-scenes political policies. In a heartbreaking post shared to X Landon expresses that helming the film was once a dream job, though the position quickly became a nightmare.
Melissa Barrera’s Departure
This announcement comes in the wake of Melissa Barrera’s firing from Scream 7, due to controversial social media posts regarding the conflict in the Gaza Strip. Barrera shared a sentiment referring to the armed conflict as a genocide, which rapidly prompted a response from the studio, claiming that the actress’ stance was antisemitic.
Barrera didn’t make use of any explicitly antisemitic language in her social media posts, which state that she is opposed to all forms of violence, prompting fans and supporters of Palestine to postulate that the actress had been fired for political purposes.
Jenna Ortega Leaves The Franchise
This is just one of several examples of Hollywood controversy sparked by the heated Israel and Palestine situation, which has caused a number of other on-screen performers to depart ongoing projects for political reasons.
Shortly after Barrera’s firing, Jenna Ortega announced her departure from Scream 7, citing an alleged scheduling conflict. Many fans have since assumed that Ortega’s departure was calculated in protest to her co-star’s firing, rallying behind the two actresses as activists in the face of studio overreach.
The Backlash
In fact, a coalition of over 1,300 on-screen performers signed an open letter petitioning the studio to cease their censorship. So it should truly come as no surprise that Christopher Landon views the production as a nightmare, prompting him to say goodbye to the iconic horror franchise. In his posts, Landon claims that his heart breaks for all of those involved in Scream 7, while expressing hope that whoever fills his seat will be able to steer the movie into a better place.
Was Christopher Landon Actually Fired?
Despite the director’s wording in his post, which seems to imply that he voluntarily departed Scream 7, he also shared in a now-deleted social media post that the decision was not his to make. This has led some fans to believe that Christopher Landon was removed by studio heads as a retaliatory measure for not keeping his actors in line with company values. No replacement for Landon has been named at this point, signaling rumors that the production is paused or canceled entirely.
Turmoil In Hollywood
As more actors, directors, and members of the filmmaking community continue to come out in support of either Israel or Palestine with a strong stance, this political fracas threatens to create a hostile environment for many productions.
With the WGA and SAG-AFTRA strikes only just concluding in recent months, this comes at a time when tensions between creators and studio heads are already at an all-time high. Scream 7 may be the first film to fall apart at the hands of this issue, but it may unfortunately not be the last.
