It’s rare to get any sort of film news this far into the holiday season, but apparently, director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day, Freaky) has left the planned sequel Scream VII after the sudden departure of two of his primary cast — Melissa Barrera being fired over comments re: the situation in Gaza and Jenna Ortega due to scheduling with her hit Netflix series, Wednesday.
According to a post made on Saturday by Landon on the social media app formerly known as Twitter:
“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.”
He then added, “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.”
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
— christopher landon (@creetureshow) December 23, 2023
2022’s Scream (the fifth movie) and this year’s Scream VI introduced the Carpenter sisters, as played by Barrera and Ortega, both of them directed by the directing collective known as Radio Silence. The former was released in January of 2022 and grossed $138.9 million worldwide, while this year’s Scream VI grossed $168.8 million worldwide, while also setting a North American record for the franchise with $108.2 million. The latter had a reported production budget of just $35 million, so it was considered a nice profitable hit for production/distribution partners Spyglass Media and Paramount Pictures.
The plan was to continue following the Carpenter girls into a third movie, but losing both actors and now a well-regarded horror director means that Spyglass and Paramount may have to go back to the drawing board in order to keep the horror franchise first shepherded by the late Wes Craven alive for further installments.
