Jenna Ortega explains real reason why she quit Scream franchise
7 April 2025, 17:39
"The Melissa [Barrera] stuff was happening, and it was all kind of falling apart."
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Jenna Ortega played a key factor in the success of the Scream franchise's revival but after stepping away from the films, fans have been left wondering what actually happened behind the scenes.
In November 2023, reports emerged that Jenna Ortega would not be returning as Tara Carpenter in Scream VII. The news broke shortly after Melissa Barrera was removed from the franchise and at the time, Deadline reported that is was due to Wednesday season 2 filming conflicts.
However, Jenna has now explained exactly why she left the franchise and it actually has nothing to do with Wednesday at all.
- Read more: Jenna Ortega turned down Wednesday "multiple times" before accepting it
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In a new interview with The Cut, Jenna explained: "It had nothing to do with pay or scheduling."
By the time Jenna had decided to leave, directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin had already exited the film – and that was a major deciding factor for her.
"The Melissa stuff was happening, and it was all kind of falling apart," she said of the state of the film at the time. "If Scream VII wasn’t going to be with that team of directors and those people I fell in love with, then it didn’t seem like the right move for me in my career at the time."
Speaking about their departure from the franchise, Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin told The Hollywood Reporter that they "got exited" because the planned Scream VII filming dates clashed with another project they were working on.
"We’ll be sad that there’s not going to be an end to the Sam Carpenter story, but in our minds, we designed Scream VI so that the story feels complete," Matt added, with the duo revealing that their intention was to finish a trilogy with Sam and Tara at the centre.
With the directors no longer on board and Melissa's Sam Carpenter no longer in the picture, it made sense for Jenna to step away.
Read more about Scream here:
- Matthew Lillard 'confirms' return as Stu Macher in Scream 7
- Melissa Barrera wants to star in Scary Movie 6 following Scream 7 firing
- Who is in the Scream 7 cast? Every actor returning to the Scream universe
- Neve Campbell Confirms Scream 7 Will Focus On Sidney Prescott
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