Posted in: Horror, Movies | Tagged: christopher landon, Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera, scream 7

Scream 7: Where Do We Go From Here Now That Everyone Has Left

Now that Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, and director Christopher Landon are all gone, where does Scream 7 go from here?

Scream 7 has become one of the most toxic projects in Hollywood. After the success of the sixth film in the franchise earlier this year, the announcement of a seventh installment felt like a foregone conclusion. It took a long while to get that announcement, however. That turns out to be the first sign that Spyglass and Paramount may have a problem on their hands. After a six-month wait, we learned that Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day) would take over the director's chair for part seven, replacing Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, who helmed the last two films to critical acclaim and box office success. While staying on as producers, it was curious why they allowed Universal to poach them for another horror project when they had spent two movies setting up a new Scream universe for a new generation.

Scream 7 Will Reboot The Franchise Again, And That's A Shame

Then November happened. After a round of social media posts deemed controversial, new franchise star Melissa Barrera was fired from Scream 7. A day later, we learned that Jenna Ortega, the other new star of the franchise and one of the biggest young names in Hollywood, also would not be returning due to scheduling conflicts. Many still think it was in solidarity with Barrera, though the studios say that her exit was known for a while behind closed doors. Finally, two days ago, Landon announced that he had left the project weeks ago on social media. It's not hard to put the pieces together there; it was probably after the two franchise leads were gone.

So, where does Scream 7 go from here? They are in a real pickle. This was expected to be the third film in a trilogy focusing on the Carpenter sisters, but they are gone. Barrera's Sam was leaning more and more into the killer tendencies of her father, original series baddie Billy Loomis. All that is gone now. The sisters had formed a bond onscreen and off with the other two members of the "core four," as they dubbed themselves with Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding. Do they come back now? I loved them both in the last two films, but I don't think they could carry a sequel alone.

No, the only option here, I think, is a complete refresh, which sucks big time. They had a great thing going, but they have no choice with the creatives behind the camera and most of the cast missing from in front of it. I think the franchise could end at part six, but we all know that is silly. There is no way they would let it lie when the last two films made close to $400 million at the box office. Since Scream 7 will inevitably exist at some point, it is best to bring in a whole new cast and director and start from scratch. Toss out the Carpenter storyline, as much as it pains me to say, and have Ghostface terrorize a whole new set of characters. Just not the ones we had already fallen for.

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