Jenna Ortega Departs From Scream 7 to Wednesday’s Second Season
Jenna Ortega has withdrawn from Scream 7 due to shooting conflicts with Wednesday Season 2.
Deadline confirmed the news after Jenna Ortega’s Scream 7 departure follows co-star Melissa Barrera’s social media firing over Israel and Palestine posts. Ortega’s Scream 7 exit was reportedly planned before her co-star’s firing and the SAG-AFTRA strike.
At the moment, production dates for the second season have not been released. However, Ortega is still working on Tim Burton’s Beetlejuice 2 which has resumed shooting after it was postponed by the strike.
'Beetlejuice 2' Has Less Than Two Days of Filming Left to Shoot Once SAG-AFTRA Strike Ends; 'It Is 99% Done,' Tim Burton Confirms https://t.co/p4stEfD0g0
— Variety (@Variety) September 11, 2023
The remake of the horror saga, Scream, brought both new and veteran stars who had already been part of the movies. The sequel, Scream 7, was announced earlier this year with director Christopher Landon.
Melissa Barrera: Actress fired from Scream 7 over Israel-Gaza posts https://t.co/LPzyYTo7r0
— BBC News (World) (@BBCWorld) November 22, 2023
Barrera was fired from Scream 7 last Tuesday, after her outspoken social media support for Palestine in the ongoing Israel conflict. Scream producer Spyglass Media Group released a statement to Variety: “We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion, or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech.”
In addition, Barrera shared a post on social media accusing Israel of “genocide and ethnic cleansing,” and reposted an excerpt from Jewish Currents calling out the distortion of “the Holocaust to boost the Israeli arms industry.”
In the aftermath of Barrera’s firing, Christopher Landon shared and deleted a statement on X on Tuesday, commenting, “Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.”
The 2022 revival of Scream brought back original stars Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, and David Arquette. The sequel also introduced new actors, including Mason Gooding Jr. and Jasmine Savoy Brown. For Scream 7, Campbell declined her return due to a salary conflict.
With its seventh sequel, the Scream franchise expects to reach the $1 billion global box office mark. After six films, it already stands at $911 million.
Scream 6 is now available at home with several streaming services.
