In a new interview, Jenna Ortega clarified why she stepped away from the “Scream” franchise. The actress, who starred in the fifth and sixth “Scream” films as Tara Carpenter, confirmed in 2023 that she was not returning for the seventh franchise installment. It was originally reported that “Scream VII” conflicted with her “Wednesday” Season 2 shoot in Ireland after the SAG-AFTRA strikes. The announcement that Ortega was leaving “Scream VII” was announced one day after co-star Melissa Barrera’s firing.
Now, Ortega has shared that her exit was in fact because the film itself was “falling apart.”
Ortega’s co-star Barrera, who played her onscreen half-sister, was fired for pro-Palestine comments that “Scream” production company Spyglass Entertainment deemed antisemitic. Directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, who helmed the fifth and sixth films in the series, had already parted ways with the franchise; Christopher Landon was going to direct the seventh film, but also left the project amid the backlash.
Ortega cited the turmoil of “Scream VII” as to why she decided to leave the film. “It had nothing to do with pay or scheduling,” Ortega told The Cut. “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.”
These days, Ortega is leading recent A24 release “Death of a Unicorn,” as well as reprising her titular “Wednesday” role for the series.
As for “Scream VII,” original star Neve Campbell will now be back in the franchise as Sidney Prescott, after sitting out from the sixth film due to a pay dispute; reboot actors Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown will also return for the seventh installment. The first “Scream” actor Matthew Lillard will additionally star despite his character Stu being (most likely) deceased, with original screenwriter Kevin Williamson directing.
Barrera previously told Deadline that she considers Ortega to be her “family for life.” Of being part of the “Scream” franchise for two films, she said, “I’m grateful of what I got to infuse in[to] the franchise and that’s something I will be proud of forever.”
