A reported $500,000 script rewrite on the forthcoming film Scream 7 has renewed attention on the production turmoil that followed the firing of actor Melissa Barrera over social media posts about Israel and Gaza, a decision that triggered a chain reaction of departures and delays for the long-running horror franchise.
The latest figure has circulated in entertainment reporting and on social media in the context of what multiple outlets have described as a significant reset of the project after Barrera, who led 2022’s Scream and 2023’s Scream VI as Sam Carpenter, was dropped from the film. In the same period, Scream 7 also lost Jenna Ortega, who played Tara Carpenter, and director Christopher Landon, who had been attached to direct the next instalment.
Barrera’s removal was announced in November 2023. Spyglass Media Group, the company behind the film, issued a statement defending the decision and framing it as a response to what it called hate speech. “We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech,” the statement said.
The controversy centred on Barrera’s posts about Israel’s military campaign in Gaza following the October 2023 attacks by Hamas, with Spyglass’s statement explicitly referencing “false references” to “genocide” and “ethnic cleansing.” Barrera’s departure drew immediate public reaction online, including calls to boycott the film from some viewers and expressions of support from others who argued the decision punished political speech. The dispute quickly expanded beyond a single casting change into a broader debate about how studios and employers respond to statements made in highly polarised geopolitical conflicts.
Within a day of the firing becoming public, Ortega was reported to have exited the project. While some reporting has pointed to scheduling complications as the explanation given by her representatives, the timing of the move helped fuel speculation among fans that the exit was linked to the fallout from Barrera’s firing and the wider controversy. The production itself became a focal point for online argument, with sections of the franchise’s fanbase disputing whether the decision was a corporate response to reputational risk, a judgment about hate speech, or a combination of both.
Landon, who had been hired to direct after the filmmaking duo known as Radio Silence stepped away, also addressed the situation publicly at the time. In a brief message posted on X, he wrote: “Everything sucks. Stop yelling. This was not my decision to make.” The comment, reported by multiple outlets, was widely interpreted as a signal that the director was facing backlash despite not being responsible for the decision to remove Barrera.
The upheaval contributed to the view that Scream 7 had been forced into a substantial rewrite. Posts and entertainment items discussing the project have cited a $500,000 rewrite cost, including in social media circulation alongside claims about further changes made to the film’s direction and cast. LADbible’s reporting on the story described the rewrite cost as being tied to the need to rework the project after Barrera’s firing.
As the project reorganised, the franchise pivoted back toward its original star. Neve Campbell announced in March 2024 that she would return as Sidney Prescott, after previously sitting out Scream VI during a pay dispute. In an Instagram post announcing her return, Campbell wrote: “Hi All. I’m so excited to announce this news!!! Sidney Prescott is coming back!!!!” She also linked the new film to the involvement of Kevin Williamson, the screenwriter who created the franchise with Wes Craven in 1996.
Campbell’s post also highlighted Williamson’s role behind the camera. “And now it’s happening, Kevin Williamson is going to direct Scream 7! This was his baby and it’s his brilliant mind that dreamt up this world,” she wrote. Williamson’s move into the director’s chair was widely treated as a stabilising decision for a film that had become defined, at least publicly, by the circumstances that forced it off its original course.
The production’s disruption has had a long tail, including continuing activism around the film as it approached release. In late February 2026, as the film premiered in Los Angeles, reporting described protests tied directly to Barrera’s firing and to the Gaza war, with demonstrators portraying the decision as part of a broader pattern of punishing pro-Palestinian speech. At the premiere, Williamson addressed the protests, describing the demonstrators as people who “want to be heard” and emphasising the importance of allowing people to speak, according to reporting on his remarks.
Scream 7 is scheduled for a theatrical release in the United States on February 27, 2026, according to the film’s official site and trade reporting on the release date.
The company behind the franchise has not publicly provided a detailed breakdown of the rewrite process, and the film’s creative development has largely played out through casting announcements, public statements, and the reporting of entertainment trades. What is clear from the record is that Barrera’s firing over social media posts, and the “zero tolerance” statement that followed, marked the start of a cascade that included the exits of a co-lead and a director, and ultimately a return to the franchise’s original creative figure and original final girl.