Christopher Landon no longer responds Scream VII call. The director has exited the feature film, capping a turbulent few months for the embattled project that saw two of his leading actors drop out.
“I think now is as good a time as any to announce that I officially left Scream seven weeks ago. This will disappoint some and delight others. It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare. And it broke my heart for everyone involved. All. But it’s time to move on,” Landon said wrote on X Saturday. “I have nothing more to add to the conversation other than I hope Wes' legacy thrives and rises above the noise of a divided world. What he and Kevin have created is something amazing and it was an honor to be able to enjoy even the smallest moment in their glory.”
On November 21, it was revealed that Spyglass had fired actress Melissa Barrera from the upcoming seventh Scream film over social media posts she described as anti-Semitic, while a day later it was announced that fellow star Jenna Ortega would not be returning .
According to sources, Barrera's firing actually occurred in October, during the early weeks of the Israel-Hamas war, during which the actor had become increasingly vocal. Ortega's exit, which was her decision and that of her representation team, came before this summer's SAG-AFTRA strike but was not made public until last month.
Landon is the horror specialist behind “Happy Death Day” and “Freaky” and would have taken over the directing team “Radio Silence” that revived the franchise with “Scream” in 2022 as well as “Scream VI”, which was released in March and became the most successful The horror franchise's domestic box office became its biggest hit since the 1996 original, directed by Wes Craven and written by Kevin Williamson.
Landon, who was hired before the actors' strike, expressed dissatisfaction after Barrera's firing was announced. “This is my statement: 💔 Everything sucks. Stop screaming,” Landon wrote on X on Tuesday before deleting the post. “That wasn’t my decision.”
Now the future of Scream VII rests with James Vanderbilt, the writer and producer who co-wrote the rebooted films and is writing the current script. Sources say the scribe, already struggling with Ortega's loss, focused the story on Barrera's character. When she was released, he at least had a creative partner in Landon who could take over the story. Now the franchise is back to square one and needs to be completely rebuilt.