Jenna Ortega explains why she left the Scream franchise

Apparently, it had nothing to do with pay or scheduling.

In November 2023, it was announced that Melissa Barbera, star of the rebooted Scream movies, would be leaving the franchise. This came not long after the actress posted certain remarks about the Israel-Hamas war on Instagram.

A day later, Ortega was also revealed to be departing the franchise. In a new interview with The Cut, she spoke about what led to her deciding to leave. "It had nothing to do with pay or scheduling," she said. "The Melissa stuff was happening, and it was all kind of falling apart. 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."

Barrera and Ortega starred as the Carpenter sisters in the Scream franchise, and were initially believed to be a part of Scream 7. However, it now seems as if the new film will instead take the franchise back to its original roots, even starring Matthew Lillard once more.