Director Christopher Landon Announces Exit From Scream VII

The planned Scream VII sequel took another L over the weekend. Following the loss of the franchise’s two newest stars, Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, the project has now lost another major name: director Christopher Landon (Happy Death Day, Freaky). Landon took to social media yesterday, announcing that he was no longer working on the project.

Landon wrote on X (formerly Twitter), “I guess now is as good a time as any to announce I formally exited Scream 7 weeks ago. 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.” He continued, “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. What he and Kevin created is something amazing and I was honored to have even the briefest moment basking in their glow.”

The dominoes started falling for the project last month when Barrera, who portrayed Sam Carpenter in the last two films, was dropped from the project by Spyglass Media due to the actress’ comments regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict. Shortly afterwards, it was revealed that co-star Jenna Ortega would not be returning as Sam’s sister, Tara, either.

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Ortega and her representation made the decision to exit the franchise before the SAG-AFTRA strike started in the summer on July 14. However, the announcement was not made public until last month.

Landon previously boarded the project earlier this year when it was announced that the directing team, Radio Silence, would not be returning for the project. Following the controversial news of Barrera’s firing, Landon wrote and later deleted on X, “This is my statement: 💔 Everything sucks. Stop yelling.” After deleting his initial tweet, he later posted on socials, “This was not my decision to make.”

Writer James Vanderbilt, who wrote the last two installments, is currently attached to write the script. THR reports that that Vanderbilt was previously focusing the story on Barrera’s character after learning that Ortega would no longer be involved. However, now that Landon is gone as well, Vanderbilt no longer has a creative partner to bounce ideas off of for the story. Essentially, the two leads and Landon leaving the project puts Scream VII back at square one, and it means the project will likely need to start over from scratch.

Scream VI, released earlier in March, was a huge hit for Paramount, making $108 million domestically and $168 million worldwide, becoming the second highest-grossing installment of the franchise to date, behind only the original.

more to add to the conversation other than I hope Wes’ legacy thrives and lifts above the din of a divided world. What he and Kevin created is something amazing and I was honored to have even the briefest moment basking in their glow.

— christopher landon (@creetureshow) December 23, 2023