Scream Directors Open Up on Their Franchise Exit After Melissa Barrera Firing

ScreamdirectorsRadio Silencehave spoken out about their departure from the horror franchise, which they said was all down to Spyglass Media wanting a quicker turnaround forScream 7than they could manage. Radio Silence duo Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin said they were phased out of the project, but, of course, that ended up being the least of the movie’s problems.

The sixth installment in the American meta-horror slasher franchise Scream.

TheScreamfranchise was sent into a frenzy followingthe firing of Melissa Barrerabecause of social media posts she shared regarding the Israel-Hamas war. Jenna Ortega departed the upcoming seventh installment the very next day, citing scheduling conflicts, and then Christopher Landon, who was assigned to direct the film following the departure of Radio Silence, left the project soon after.

PerThe Hollywood Reporter, the Radio Silence team intended to create a new trilogy focused on Barrera and Ortega’s sister duo of Sam and Tara Carpenter. This began withScreamin 2022 and continued with 2023’sScream VI. They believed they could jump into their Universal Pictures monster movieAbigailbefore getting intoScream VIIbut, according to the directing team, Spyglass wanted to get moving on the seventh film faster than their schedules would allow. The indication wasn’t that they were fired or officially let go, it just appears that Spyglass went about finding a new director in hopes of fast-tracking the film, which resulted in the hiring of Landon as the movie’s director.

“We got exited. We’ll be sad that there’s not going to be an end to the Sam Carpenter story, but in our minds, we designedScream VIso that the story feels complete.”

Radio Silence Spoke to Christopher Landon After He Left Scream VII

Following the drama regarding the firing of Barrera and the exit of Ortega, Landon left the project and was pretty vocal about how hisdream job quickly turned into a nightmare. Bettinelli-Olpin went on to say that he and Gillett reached out to Landon and"commiserated a little bit"but didn’t reveal details about their discussion. In the same article, Barrera spoke of Landon’s departure and wasn’t entirely sure why he left the production. The actress said,“I actually don’t know what happened. He was very excited about it, and he had great ideas for it, so it makes me sad.”

Scream 7 Star Melissa Barrera Shares Response to “Shocking” Firing and Jenna Ortega’s Departure

Scream 7 has been plagued with several issues, and former star Melissa Barrera has opened up about her exit from the franchise.

Scream VIIis seemingly back on track with the news thatNeve Campbell is returning to the role of Sidney Prescott. In addition to Campbell returning, franchise brainchild Kevin Williamson is on board to direct, while there are rumored returns for otherScreamalumni,including Courteney Cox and Patrick Dempsey. Campbell accepting the offer forScream VIIhas sparked a bit of a divide among Scream fans, who believe she should’ve stood in solidarity with Barrera following what they feel was an unjust firing, while other fans believe you can support Barrera and still be happy about Campbell returning to a franchise she has been a part of for over 25 years.