Director Christopher Landon is not helming the seventh instalment of the Scream franchise, here are the details.
It’s not a great time to be a Scream fan. The last few weeks have been some of the most tumultuous in the history of the franchise, and the next film appears to be falling apart before our eyes.
Perhaps the first sign of things to come was when Radio Silence – aka Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett – walked away from the film, which was when Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon took over.
Then, on the 22nd November, star Melissa Barrera was dropped from the film, reportedly due to controversy about online media posts, which in itself led to a flurry of support for Barrera from fans.
The following day, the film’s other breakout star, Jenna Ortega, also dropped out.
The reasons for this were more practical than personal – Ortega is committed to star as the titular character in Season 2 of her hit Netflix show Wednesday, and after production was delayed due to the strikes, filming dates of the two projects clashed.
The same story also revealed that the Scream 7 script was far from locked, with James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, the writers of the previous two “Scream” installments, working of a completely new draft.
It seems the fallout of all this also included the departure of Landon, who posted the following statement on Twitter/X:
“I guess now is as good a time as any to announce I formally exited Scream 7 weeks ago. This will disappoint some and delight others. It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare. And my heart did break for everyone involved. Everyone. But it’s time to move on. I have nothing more to add to the conversation other than I hope Wes’ legacy thrives and lifts above the din of a divided world. What he and Kevin created is something amazing and I was honored to have even the briefest moment basking in their glow”.
Added to the fact that there is still bitterness from fans surrounding the refusal of the studio to pay Neve Campbell a sufficient salary to return to her iconic role of Sidney Prescott, the future looks very uncertain for Ghostface. Little doubt the franchise will be back, but it’s not in the best of health at this moment in time…
