Following Jenna Ortega, previous Scream 7 director Christopher Landon is also speaking out on his exit from the director's chair. Landon was all set to begin production on the film with Melissa Barrera set to star...and then he wasn't.
Then, in a shocking plot twist, Landon’s production imploded. Barrera—the film’s star, set to reprise her role after leading Scream’s fifth and sixth installments—made a series of social media posts expressing support for the Palestinian cause and criticizing Israel’s actions in the wake of the October 7 attacks. Her comments were perceived as antisemitic by executives, igniting a firestorm. Soon after, Landon got a call from Spyglass Media Group—the production company behind the horror franchise’s revival—telling him they were firing Barrera. Without her, the movie “all came tumbling down in an instant,” he says. “It was devastating to suddenly cancel everything.”
He also speaks out on the scarier moments of the Barrera fall-out...
In late November 2023, news broke that Barrera had been fired, and her costar Ortega voluntarily left the movie. The cast shakeup dominated headlines, sending some Scream fans who blamed Landon on a reckless and potentially violent rampage. “People were threatening to kill me and my family, to the point where the FBI was getting involved,” he says, still noticeably disturbed. “I got messages saying, ‘I’m going to find your kids, and I’m going to kill them because you support child murder.’” Landon has two sons, ages five and eight, with husband Cody Morris, a digital marketing strategist. “The head of security at various studios and the FBI had to examine the threats. It was highly aggressive and really scary.”
He goes to 100% confirm that he had no hand in firing Barrera and the studio actually wanted him to stay on board the sequel. But it was all too much and he believes the movie is in its best hands with original creator Kevin Williamson. Also, an interesting tidbit: he confirms Ortega was already out when he signed on.
Source: Vanity Fair
