Discover the real reasons behind Jenna Ortega's surprising departure from the 'Scream' franchise after joining a younger generation of cast for the last two movies.
- April 8, 2025
AceShowbiz - Jenna Ortega didn't leave "Scream VII" over pay dispute or scheduling conflict. In a new interview, she revealed that she exited the movie because things went awry after her co-star Melissa Barera's exit.
Barera was fired from the film for publicly supporting Palestine. Shortly afterwards, Ortega quit the franchise as well, followed by the departure of director Christopher Landon who was initially hired to take over the franchise from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who had helmed two modern iterations led by Ortega and Barrera.
"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."
She continued, "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."
Ortega's remarks seemed to align with Landon's experience. "Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make," the director previously said following his exit. "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."
The original scribe Kevin Williamson has since been tasked with directing the new film. Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette are confirmed to reprise their respective roles along with the remaining new cast like Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown. The film is set to hit theaters on February 27, 2026.
Regardless, Ortega's career is doing just fine - she has new movie "The Death of a Unicorn" currently in theaters and "Wednesday" Season 2 coming later in 2025. Last year, she even joined Tim Burton's world of "Beetlejuice Beetlejuice".
"I've happened to join a lot of franchises, which is so great to be a part of legacy," Ortega shared. "But for me, I'm really trying to prioritize new directors and original stories. I know on the outside, maybe people are looking at my choices like, 'Man, what the hell is this girl doing?' I never thought I would do a movie with unicorns. But an original script is exciting. If I can help get it made, I love to do that."
