Jenna Ortega is opening up about her exit from the Scream franchise in a new interview with The Cut.
Back in November 2023, it was announced that Jenna Ortega would not be returning for the upcoming Scream 7. Ortega’s departure from the beloved franchise was made public just as it was broke that her costar Melissa Barrera, who played her onscreen sister, was allegedly fired over pro-Palestinian social media posts.
At the time, it was reported that Ortega’s exit from the Scream series was due to scheduling conflicts with season two of Netflix’s Wednesday. However, the star is now setting the record straight with The Cut.
Speaking to the publication, Ortega admitted that her departure from Scream “had nothing to do with pay or scheduling.” Instead, the actor revealed it was the previous departure of directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin that made her not want to step into Tara Carpenter’s shoes for a new movie.
“If Scream 7 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 shared, admitting “it was all kind of falling apart.”
Ortega first joined the Scream franchise in 2022 for the first rebooted film and fifth installment overall. She reprised her role for Scream 6 the following year. Both slashers were directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The duo’s exit from the project was made public on August 2023, citing scheduling conflicts with Abigail.
It was originally announced that Christopher Landon would take over; however, Landon also exited the project in December 2023. Ultimately, Scream 7 will be directed by original Scream scriptwriter Kevin Williamson, marking his directorial debut for the saga.
