Paramount/Binoculars
EXCLUSIVE: Jenna Ortega, who was instrumental in making “Scream VI” the highest-grossing horror franchise ever with $44.4 million in the U.S. and $67 million worldwide, is set to return, sources say not returning for “Scream VII.”
This has nothing to do with the fallout from Spyglass Media’s firing of Melissa Barrera yesterday over that actress’ renewed social media posts about the Hamas-Israel conflict; It also has nothing to do with the actress calling for her Scream contract to be terminated. Ortega and Barrera played sisters in 2022’s “Scream” and as Tara and Sam Carpenter in this year’s “Scream VI.”
We understand that Ortega’s exit from the next Scream was discussed before the actors’ strike. A script for “Scream VII” has not yet been completed and the Primetime Emmy nominee must travel to Ireland in April to film the second season of Netflix’s “Wedwig,” which will debut this summer. Additionally, following the SAG-AFTRA strike, Beetlejuice was given a few extra days of filming to allow for its theatrical release on Labor Day 2024.
There’s no news yet on Scream 7’s schedule, but one thing is clear to Ortega after Wednesday’s success and her star launch: the world is her oyster when it comes to future roles.
For her role as the title character of Wednesday, Ortega received a Primetime Emmy nomination for comedy series actress and a Golden Globe nomination for comedy television actress.
The Scream franchise with a seventh part is expected to reach the $1 billion mark at the global box office. With six films it’s at $911 million.
Yesterday, Spyglass issued the statement in response to Barrera’s exit from Scream VII: “Spyglass’ position is clear: we have zero tolerance for anti-Semitism or incitement to hatred in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust “Distortion or anything that obviously crosses the line into hate speech.”
Christopher Landon, the new director of Scream 7, posted on X and then removed the tweet: “This is me saying: 💔 Everything sucks. Stop screaming. That wasn’t my decision.”
Spyglass did not respond to requests for comment. Ortega is represented by CAA.