Scream 7: Franchise Star Has Worrying Update About New Sequel

Scream 7 has been in turmoil for a while, and yet another franchise star seems to indicate they're not coming back. The seventh film in the slasher series hit a major snag when it was revealed that Melissa Barrera had been fired from Scream 7. It didn't take long after that for star Jenna Ortega to drop out of the project as well, though it was seemingly unrelated to Barrera's dismissal. Now, speaking with Entertainment Tonight about her involvement in the series, Scream (2022) and Scream VI star Jasmin Savoy Brown was asked about her hopes for Scream 7, offering the blunt reply: "I haven't gotten a call. So, I think if you want to ask Spyglass what they're doing, you can... I haven't gotten a call."

The good news for fans is that even if Brown and her castmates won't be returning for the movie, she still has fond memories of her work in the series and of working with her fellow stars. "I think that everything we did, the Core Four, is amazing and important and should be celebrated forever," Brown added. "And I'm glad that we got to capture that onscreen and I'm proud to have four people of color in that horror film...Forever, I'll forever be proud of that."

Scream 7 came together just as quickly as it fell apart. The sequel was revealed to be in the works with Happy Death Day's Christopher Landon directing back in August of 2023, revealed about five months after Scream VI became the highest-grossing movie in the entire franchise. The firing of Melissa Barrera and departure of Jenna Ortega were revealed in November, just months later, and though reports came out afterward that the studio was interested in pivoting to other characters. 

It was previously revealed that both Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox, original stars that have appeared in nearly every movie, were potential targets to lead Scream 7. Patrick Dempsey was also on the wish list for potential Scream 7 stars, having first appeared in 2000's Scream 3 as Detective Mark Kincaid (whom it was later implied was married to Campbell's Sydney Prescott). Since those reports the only notable update on Scream 7 is the departure of Christopher Landon as the director, meaning the sequel has almost no talent attached to it.

Despite appearances in the first five movies of the series, Neve Campbell opted not to return for Scream VI after a dispute over her salary forced her to walk away from the sequel. The actress was previously very open about the fact that she wouldn't be returning despite becoming the face of the franchise. At a convention earlier this month Campbell actually addressed the movie for the first time publicly after finally watching it.

"I watched it until two weeks ago. It took me a minute, I don't know why," Campbell said during a spotlight panel at Monster-Mania Con this month. "I actually thought they did a really good job. I think the cast are really powerful, wonderful actors...I don't wish these movies ill will. I wanted the movie to be good. It's not like I'm sitting in my house going, 'I hope it sucks, I hope it doesn't do well.' I care about all the people involved. There's someone at the top who only thinks about money and that's their prerogative."