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Director Christopher Landon announced on Saturday that he has “formally” left Scream VII. The announcement comes following the high profile exits of stars Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega from the beleaguered film.
“I guess now is as good a time as any to announce I formally exited Scream 7 weeks ago,” the director wrote on X (formerly Twitter) on Saturday. “This will disappoint some and delight others. It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare. And my heart did break for everyone involved. Everyone. But it’s time to move on.
“I have nothing more to add to the conversation other than I hope Wes’ legacy thrives and lifts above the din of a divided world,” he continued in his post thread. “What he and Kevin created is something amazing and I was honored to have even the briefest moment basking in their glow.”
Lead actress Barrera was fired from the project, following her pro-Palestine posts on social media. Barrera had shared an Instagram story condemning antisemitism, and asserted that she would continue to speak on the issue: “Silence is not an option for me,” she said in November following her ousting. While the news of her departure came in November, Barrera had been fired in October shortly after the Israel-Hamas war erupted on Oct. 7, per The Hollywood Reporter. In the days following the conflict, the actress became more vocal on her stance, sharing pro-Palestine messaging, which included a “Compassion Must Prevail” image with a caption pleading that President Joe Biden “call for an immediate de-escalation and ceasefire in Gaza.”
“Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech,” a Spyglass spokesperson said in a statement to Variety at the time.
Meanwhile, Ortega’s departure became public around the same time of Barrera’s exit becoming publicly known in November, although the decision by Ortega and her reps came before the summer’s SAG-AFTRA strike and had not been made public until the fall.
Landon, who had been hired prior to the strike, voiced his disapproval of Barrera’s ousting after it was announced. “This is my statement: ???? Everything sucks. Stop yelling,” Landon wrote, before deleting the post. “This was not my decision to make.”
Writer-producer James Vanderbilt — who cowrote the reboots and is writing the current script — currently remains as the franchise looks to rebuild following the departure of their leads and director.
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