Summary

  • Scream 7 is reportedly losing cast member Jenna Ortega, who plays Tara Carpenter.
  • Melissa Barrera, who played Tara's sister, is also reportedly not returning due to controversial social media posts.
  • Jenna Ortega's absence from Scream 7 is reportedly due to her commitments to filming Wednesday season 2.

Scream 7 is reportedly losing major cast member Jenna Ortega. Ortega played Tara Carpenter, one of the "Core Four" characters who survived the events of Scream (2022), and Scream VI. Tara is the younger sister of Sam Carpenter, the character played by Melissa Barrera, who is also reportedly not returning for the sequel following controversial posts on social media.

Deadline reports that Ortega will not be returning for the sequel Scream 7, partially due to her commitment to Wednesday season 2. According to their report, this exit was already in talks prior to Barrera's reported quiet firing. Scream 7's production is awaiting a completed script, and her commitments to wrapping production on Beetlejuice 2 and returning to Ireland for Wednesday in April 2024 leave her schedule seriously impacted.

Scream 7 May Look Very Different

Melissa Barerra's Sam and Jenna Ortega's Tara look scared in front of Ghostface projection in Scream 6.

Barrera's controversial firing came after the star shared posts about the Israel-Hamas war, involving language that a representative for Spyglass said in a recent statement "crosses the line into hate speech." The online pushback against this decision has been fierce, and it remains to be seen if the production company will hold the line on her removal from the project. Although the stories around Barrera's firing and Ortega's potential exit are still developing, it seems possible that one or both of the Carpenter sisters will not return.

If this is the case, the Core Four at the center of the new Scream movies would be compromised, leaving only twins Chad (Mason Gooding) and Mindy Meeks-Martin (Jasmin Savoy Brown). This is the second Scream sequel in a row to be rocked by casting issues, following the controversial exit of Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott. Following a pay dispute, Campbell did not the Scream VI cast despite returning for Scream, though her recent exit from the main cast of Netflix's The Lincoln Lawyer has led to speculation that she could be planning to return for Scream 7.

Other Scream VI cast that could potentially return include Courteney Cox, Hayden Panettiere, and Josh Segarra.

Because of all these factors, the Scream 7 cast is currently in flux. This will likely lead to complications with completing the script, as it is unknown exactly which characters will actually be returning. Especially if any other Scream cast drop out either as a reaction to Barrera's firing or an unwillingness to go forward without either Carpenter sister, the sequel could end up looking entirely different than originally planned.

Source: Deadline