Jenna Ortega will not be returning to reprise her role as Tara Carpenter in the upcoming sequel “Scream VII”….
“Scream VII” has lost another lead actor.
Jenna Ortega — who helped revitalize the horror franchise while portraying Tara Carpenter in both the fifth and sixth sequels — will not be returning to reprise her role for “Scream VII.”
Ortega dropping out of “Scream VII” comes less than 24 hours after her co-star Melissa Barrera was fired from the production by Spyglass — the studio producing the film — over posts she made related to the Israel-Hamas war. While the timing couldn’t be worse for the “Scream” sequel, the two situations are not related with Ortega opting not to return for “Scream VII” due to her busy filming schedule with other projects.
Right now, Ortega is prepping for a few minor reshoots for the upcoming “Beetlejuice” sequel from Tim Burton and then she’ll go into production on the second season of “Wednesday” for Netflix. That just puts her in a position where “Scream VII” has to be sacrificed for the sake of her other obligations.
Of course, Ortega leaving “Scream VII” puts the sequel in even more jeopardy after already losing Barrera.
Ortega and Barrera played sisters Tara and Sam Carpenter and they essentially became the lead roles in both of the recent “Scream” sequels. Their roles got even bigger after original series star Neve Campbell opted not to return for “Scream VI” due to a pay dispute with the studio.
Now “Scream VII” will apparently be without Ortega, Barrera and presumably Campbell, which leaves director Christopher Landon in an awkward position to attempt to scrap something together for the sequel. Landon took over as director for “Scream VII” after the team from Radio Silence opted not to return after directing “Scream VI” and “Scream VII.”
As of now, a script for “Scream VII” hasn’t been completed but losing the two main leads for the film will drastically change whatever plans were set in motion for the upcoming sequel.
H/T: Deadline
