“What’s your favorite scary movie?” The producers of Scream 7 would tell you “Anything but this one,” after receiving a ton of backlash ever since they lost their biggest stars in the movie.
Due to the departures of the previous stars, it led to a major shift in the production which was originally set for late 2024. The production for Scream 7 began filming in early January in 2025
In late 2023 Melissa Barrera was fired from the filming of Scream 7 because of a post she made on Instagram, speaking up about the situation in Palestine.
She was told by the Spyglass Media that they had “zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate,” following the posts she made prior which was calling Israels doings “genocide and ethnic cleanising.”
Actress Jenna Ortega, another actor in the Scream movies quit the filming as they heard that Barrera was removed from the cast. Fans have been disappointed at the fact that their favorite characters have been removed from the cast of the movie, saying they believe the action violated their freedom of speech. It also makes people wonder if it violated any contracts. Critics on social media have been discussing the topic, saying that the Spyglass Media should not have let their political views get in the way of casting and filming.
When Barrera was fired from the film, she said it was the “darkest” time in her life, as she had not got any more offers for films for 10 months since then. Barrera says she had the support of her co-star Jenna Ortega and said she is her “sister for life.” Since the firing of Barrera, it changed people’s opinion on watching the movie, and instead have been planning a boycott which brings the question of how many people are actually going to see the new movie. It also is making people wonder how much money the Spyglass Media is going to lose due to the boycotting.
Fans have been expecting the new Scream movie to be nostalgic and going back to the franchise’s roots, as Sidney Prescott is making a return after not being in Scream 6. Fans are expecting to see more of Sydney Prescott as she is the fan favorite. Fans also have hope to see the return of one of the first killers in the franchise, known as Stu Macher, as when you look at the casting on google it shows him as one of the characters.
It’s not clear how he returns but there is speculation that it could just be a flashback, or it could be more. Its possible that it’s just his ghost or a flashback, as the same happened in Scream 5 where Sam Carpenter was speaking to her father (Billy Loomis) as a ghost in the hospital, who Billy Loomis was the original ghostface along with Stu Macher from Scream 1.
Fans seem to be happy with the new casting but is also being critical because they don’t know if it is going to be as good now that Barrera and Ortega have left the set. This puts more pressure on the producers because the fans have high expectations.
Just like the reveal of the person behind the mask, fans will find out if Scream 7 lives up to the expectations when it hits screens on Feb. 27.
