How Scream 7 Would Have Reportedly Handled Jenna Ortega And Melissa Barrera’s Characters Before Their Departure (2024)

The horror genre's renaissance is showing no signs of slowing down, resulting in some of the best horror movies returned to theaters with new sequels. Chief among them is Wes Craven's slasher series Scream, which has been doing great at the box office with its two recent sequels. Fans are psyched for Neve Campbell's return as Sidney Prescott in Scream 7, although they were bummed to see both Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera depart their roles in the upcoming horror movie. And now we know how Scream 7 would have reportedly handled Ortega and Barrera’s characters before their departure.

What we know about Scream 7 is limited, especially as it hasn't begun filming yet. But the movie was planned to be quite different ahead of WGA strikes, Melissa Barrera's firing from the franchise and Christopher Landon exiting as director. According to an account Beyond The Mask, they spoke with an insider (as well as Landon) about what the original plans for the seventh film were. And they were a doozy.

Per this report (which we should take with a grain of salt until its officially confirmed) Scream 7 was originally intended to be the final chapter in the Carpenter Sisters' story from the previous two films (which can be streamed with a Paramount+ subscription). Due to issues with Jenna Ortega's busy schedule, her character Tara reportedly would have died during the event of the seventh movie. And as a result, Sam would be struggling with that grief, and whether or not to give into her darker side.

In the 2022 Scream movie, it was revealed that Sam is actually Billy Loomis' daughter, and she saw visions of her murderous father throughout the last two films. While the ending of Scream VI saw her leave the Ghostface mask behind, the death of her sister Tara would have reportedly resulted in her struggling with the violence and rage that lives inside her.

According to this same report by Beyond The Mask, getting Sam to embrace her villain side would have been part of the mission for Ghostface in the scrapped original plans for Scream 7. The planned identity of the killer is unclear, although Sam and Tara's mother was expected to finally appear in that version of the slasher.

Alas, the original plans for Christopher Landon's sequel has been scrapped, and neither of the Carpenter sisters will appear in Scream 7. Paramount's plans for the sequel are still largely a mystery, although Neve Campbell's return as Sidney has longtime fans like me excited for what's to come. Hopefully more casting details come soon, including more legacy Scream characters that would be fun to see back.

Scream 7 doesn't currently have a release date, but it's reportedly going to start filming in September. While we wait for more information, check the 2025 movie release dates.