It’s a great time to be a horror fan. Some of the best horror movies returned to theaters with new sequels as the genre continues its wildly successful renaissance. That includes Wes Craven’s Scream, which has gotten two new sequels recently from the filmmakers at Radio Silence. Scream 7 is happening with a new director, and there are some rumors swirling about Jenna Ortega. Given how much I love her character Tara, I’m pretty nervous.
Over the past few movies, Jenna Ortega has become a household name, all playing Tara Carpenter in the last two Scream movies. But this new level of fame is largely thanks to her playing the title character of Netflix’s series Wednesday. With both Season 2 of the show and Scream 7 seemingly gearing up to film, there are rumors on Twitter that she might not be appearing in the next installment of the slasher sequel. Given just how in-demand she is, these reports don’t seem too far fetched.
The situation surrounding Scream 7 and Wednesday's production are made all the more complicated given the current strikes. Productions are shut down, and whenever a new deal is made that ends the strikes, there are going to be a variety of movie and TV projects rushing to begin filming. And if both Scream and Wednesday do this, then it should be a scheduling nightmare that’ll presumably result in her being absent from the next Scream.
To be clear, this is all speculation at this point. And there are already so many rumors swirling about Ortega and Scream 7 that we should probably take them all with a grain of salt. There was a report that Paramount wanted her in the next Scream movie, which is why filming was pushed up. But others indicate that she’s putting Wednesday above that, and doesn’t care much to bring Tara Carpenter back to life on the big screen. We’ll have to see how it all shakes out, but I’m going to remain nervous until some concrete information is revealed.
As previously mentioned, Scream 7 has a new director in the form of Happy Death Day filmmaker Christopher Landon. This is a change of the guard from Tyler Gillett and Matt Betinelli-Olpin who had record-breaking access with their Scream movies. But could the cast of the franchise also get a shakeup without Jenna Ortega? Only time will tell.
Losing out on Tara would likely be a point of contention for Scream fans, if Ortega actually can’t film the seventh movie. Scream VI marked the first installment of the franchise without Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott. This put the pressure on, but the Carpenter sisters emerged as the new final girls. Although if we also lose half of that duo then exactly who is the horror franchise about?
Scream 7 doesn’t have a release date but is expected to arrive sometime in 2024. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
