The Core Four is no more. Although Scream (2022) and Scream VI set up the characters of Samantha Carpenter, Tara Carpenter, Mindy Meeks-Martin, and Chad Meeks-Martin as the new leads of the Scream franchise, that group is not going to end up being in Scream 7, whenever that film goes into production. Jenna Ortega allegedly wanted a substantial pay raise to reprise the role of Tara… and as we saw when Neve Campbell dropped out of Scream VI due to a pay dispute, these pay issues don’t tend to work out. So Ortega was out, but Melissa Barrera was on board to come back as Tara’s sister Samantha. Until she was fired from the project after comments she made about the Israel-Hamas war didn’t go over well with executives at Spyglass. Mindy may or not be in the movie; we can’t be sure yet, because Jasmin Savoy Brown hasn’t gotten a call about reprising the role. During an interview with Variety, Mason Gooding, who played Mindy’s brother Chad, said that he’s not being kept in the loop on the development of Scream 7, either. But he is quite confident the movie is going to be made.
Gooding said, “If it could make money, I guarantee you, they’ll make it. It’s one of those things where you wait to hear from the people that make the big decisions. It’s all about keeping up with what feels like is the best movie for the fans. Scream doesn’t exist without the people who enjoy it as much as they do… If people want it, they will certainly try their best to see it happen.“
Gooding also doesn’t seem to be too bummed over the idea of at least half of the Core Four being left out of the new movie, because the actors who played the characters are still “a family beyond the work.”
As Gooding suspects, Spyglass Media and Paramount Pictures are still eager to get a Scream 7 out into the world. Returning writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick working on the script, and last we heard they were hoping to get Neve Campbell back in the lead as franchise heroine Sidney Prescott. Patrick Dempsey, who played LAPD homicide detective – and Sidney’s love interest – Mark Kincaid in Scream 3, might also be part of the new plan for the seventh film. Scream (2022) and Scream VI directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett will not be at the helm of the new film. Freaky and Happy Death Day director Christopher Landon had been hired to direct it, but he left when the original version of the film crumbled out from under him. Alone and Sick director John Hyams may be in the running to direct Scream 7 now, along with an unspecified female director.
Even if Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera are out, do you hope to see Mason Gooding and/or Jasmin Savoy Brown in Scream 7? Let us know by leaving a comment below.