'Scream 7' hunts for replacements after Jenna Ortega, Melissa Barrera exit

The executives of the Scream franchise are reportedly looking to bring back Neve Campbell, Patrick Dampsey, and Courtney Cox for the upcoming installment of the slasher film.

It comes after Spyglass fired Melissa Barrera ahead of filming of Scream 7 due to her political statements in the wake of ongoing Middle East conflict.

Jenna Ortega was shortly reported to have terminated her contract with the company, owing to scheduling conflicts with filming of Season 2 of Netflix’s Wednesday.

Reacting to the backlash, the film’s director Christopher Landon affirmed in a now-deleted tweet on X, formerly Twitter: “Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.”

According to Variety, the team behind the upcoming film is now intent on bringing Campbell on board, who previously appeared in 2022’s Scream.

Meanwhile, Cox, who appeared in every installment of the film series, is also expected to return. Dampsey is also being considered as one of the protagonists.

The outlet alluded that Ortega and Barrera were yet to sign new deals to appear in the seventh chapter, noting the duo had only signed on for two Scream films, i.e., the fifth and six installment.