The decision followed the firing of Melissa Barrera after she made pro-Palestine comments online
BY CALYPSO LLOYD-DAVIES, IMAGE BY PARAMOUNT PICTURES
The original director of the upcoming film Scream VII, Christopher Landon, has spoken out about his decision to quit the franchise after actor Melissa Barrera was fired.
Scream VI saw the new additions of queer fan-favourites like Jenna Ortega, alongside Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding. Plus, the film included the return of icon Courtney Cox, who starred in the original Scream.
Now, however, both Jenna and Melissa have left the franchise during the pre-production of Scream VII. Reports allege that Melissa was fired due to her support of Palestine on social media. Jenna dropped out of the film shortly after.
Not long after, Christopher made his exit, stating that the film had turned from a “dream to a nightmare”.
In an interview with Ashley Cullins for her new book Your Favourite Scary Movie: How the Scream Films Rewrote The Rules Of Horror, the director shares exactly why he left. “I made my decision to walk away about a week after [Spyglass] fired her.” Speaking on Melissa, he continued: “There was no movie anymore. The whole script was about her. I didn’t sign on to make ‘a Scream movie’. I signed on to make that movie. When that movie no longer existed, I moved on.”
He admits he was receiving public scrutiny after Melissa’s exit: “They were all screaming at someone who wasn’t even in the movie anymore. There were a lot of people who thought I was some sort of villain. That really got in my head. It was painful, and it was painful to lose a dream job in such a sudden and bizarre way.”
As it now stands, Scream VII is set to be directed by Kevin Williamson, director of the original Scream in 1996, and will include original star Neve Campbell. We will also see the return of David Arquette, Matthew Lillard, Scott Foley, Jasmine and Mason, as well as newbies Isabel May, Anna Camp, Celeste O’Connor, Asa Germann, McKenna Grace and Sam Rechner.
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