The “Scream” franchise keeps taking the hits. Following the loss of its leading scream queens, “Scream VII” filmmaker Christoper Landon has exited the film he announced this week on Twitter over the holidays and described the project as a “nightmare.” Furthermore, he said he left the project weeks ago, which is not a surprise given the recent controversies.
“I guess now is as good a time as any to announce I formally exited Scream 7 weeks ago,” Landon wrote on Twitter over the weekend. “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.”
“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, referencing creators director Wes Kraven and original screenwriter Kevin Williamson.” What he and Kevin created is something amazing, and I was honored to have even the briefest moment basking in their glow.”
Landon’s belated announcement comes on the heels of two departures from the franchise. First, Melissa Barrera, one of the leads of the new iterations, was fired from the franchise due to social media posts that Spyglass Media said suggested antisemitism (though most of her posts, while critical of Israel and pro-Palestinian sympathies, were pro-ceasefire posts and pleas to end genocide and war, but clearly things are heated during this Israeli-Hamas war).
Soon after she was fired, Landon, the filmmaker of “The Happy Death Day” and “Freaky,” seemed to address her dismissal indirectly. In a since-deleted social media post a few hours after Barrera was let go, he wrote, “This is my statement: Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.”
Twenty-four hours later, it was revealed that Jenna Ortega, the second lead of the “Scream” franchise, had also left the project. Her reps used the cover of a scheduling conflict, but the timing was too obvious and pointed to ignore. “Scream VII” fans have been up in arms over all these decisions, most of which they sound as wrong-headed and extreme. Many of them go so far as to declare the franchise is “over” and will never recover. The franchise is now without a director and lead stars and is likely going back to the fundamental drawing board instead of charging full steam ahead with the goodwill that “Scream V” and “Scream VI” earned with great reviews that revived the brand for new generations. Undoubtedly, “Scream” will have to take a long beat to regroup and heal from the bad publicity these altercations have caused the horror I.P.
