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Director Christopher Landon announced Saturday that he has “officially” exited Scream VII. The announcement comes after the high-profile exit of stars Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega from the troubled film.
“I think now is as good a time as any to announce that I officially left Scream seven weeks ago.” wrote the director on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday. “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.
“I have nothing further to add to the conversation except that I hope Wes' legacy thrives and rises above the noise of a divided world,” he continued in his post thread. “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.”
Lead actress Barrera was fired from the project after she posted pro-Palestinian posts on social media. Barrera had shared an Instagram story condemning anti-Semitism and assured that she would continue to speak out on the issue: “Silence is not an option for me,” she said in November after her fall. While news of her departure broke in November, Barrera was fired in October shortly after the Israel-Hamas war broke out on October 7, according to . In the days following the conflict, the actress became more vocal about her stance, spreading pro-Palestinian messages, including an image that read “Compassion Must Win” with a caption in which she called on President Joe Biden for “immediate de-escalation and to demand a ceasefire.” Gaza.”
“Spyglass’ stance is unequivocal: 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 blatantly crosses the line into hate speech,” a Spyglass said spokesman in a statement to Variety at the time.
Meanwhile, Ortega's departure became public around the same time as Barrera's departure was made public in November, although the decision by Ortega and her representatives came before the SAG-AFTRA strike in the summer and was not made public until the fall.
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Landon, who was hired before the strike, expressed his disapproval of Barrera's firing after it was announced. “This is my statement: 💔 Everything sucks. Stop screaming,” Landon wrote before deleting the post. “That wasn’t my decision.”
Writer-producer James Vanderbilt – co-writer of the reboots and writer of the current script – is currently staying on as the franchise looks to rebuild following the departure of the lead cast and director.