Jenna Ortega confirms the real reason she dropped out of Scream 7 – and it wasn’t a scheduling conflict

Wednesday star Jenna Ortega has finally confirmed the real reason that she dropped out of Scream 7 after leading the previous two films in the slasher franchise.Jenna Ortega first appeared as Tara Carpenter in 2022’s soft-reboot of the iconic film series, Scream, alongside Melissa Barrera as her stepsister Sam.The duo returned for Scream VI a year later, continuing on the new series with Jasmin Savoy Brown (Yellowjackets), Mason Gooding and the return of original franchise star Courteney Cox.

But despite the film’s success, it was announced soon after Scream VI‘s release that neither Barrera nor Ortega would return for the as yet officially untitled sequel, Scream 7 – with the film’s director Christopher Landon following shortly after, saying the project had turned from a “dream to a nightmare”.Barrera was reportedly fired from the franchise due to her support for Palestine amid the ongoing Israel/ Hamas conflict, an experience she called “lonely and scar[y],” and Ortega dropped out of the Scream project shortly after due to ‘scheduling conflicts’.But speaking to The Cut, the star shared that her departure, “had nothing to do with pay or scheduling.



”She explained, “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.”Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera in Scream VI (Paramount Pictures)Former franchise star Neve Campbell will return for Scream 7 after being absent from the previous film over a dispute in pay.

“It’s always been such a blast and an honor to get to play Sidney in the Scream movies,” she wrote on Instagram in early 2024. “My appreciation for these films and for what they have meant to me, has never waned. I’m very happy and proud to say I’ve been asked, in the most respectful way, to bring Sidney back to the screen and I couldn’t be more thrilled!!!”Kevin Williamson (director of the very first Scream in 1996) will return as director, along with David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, and Scott Foley as Dewey Riley, Stu Macher and Roman Bridger, respectively.

Savoyr Brown and Gooding will return, with newcomers Isabel May, Anna Camp, Celeste O’Connor, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace and Sam Rechner.Scream 7 will be released in cinemas on February 27, 2026.Share your thoughts! Let us know in the comments below, and remember to keep the conversation respectful.

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