Scream 7 director Kevin Williamson discussed the exits of Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera, and also revealed that Neve Campbell is the reason he agreed to direct the next entry in the long-running horror franchise. Williamson has been involved in every Scream movie, either as a writer or executive producer. However, Scream 7 will not only be his first time directing a movie in the franchise, but will also serve as his directorial debut. Unfortunately, the seventh film won’t directly follow 2023’s Scream VI, since Ortega and Barrera will not return.

In an interview with Screen Rant’s Ash Crossan for The Waterfront, a series which will be released on Netflix on June 19, Williamson addressed the exits of Ortega and Barrera and discussed his excitement about Scream 7’s story, which will follow Campbell’s Sidney Prescott. He revealed that Campbell was actually the one who suggested he should direct the seventh entry. Initially, Williamson didn’t want to helm Scream 7, but quickly changed his mind and signed on as the director. Read his full comments below:

Neve did. You are right. It was sort of, “Well, what’s going to happen?” After we lost Melissa and Jenna, and it just looked like we weren’t going to see the Carpenter sisters in a third movie, it was kind of a bummer. It’s like, “What do we do next?”

And then this idea to bring Sidney Prescott back — and not just bring her back, but to focus on her character, tell her story of who she is today — that got really exciting for me. And I think other people got really excited about it.

And then they started writing a script. Jamie came up with this great story — Jamie Vanderbilt and Guy Busick — and they started to write this script, and it just sort of took on a life of its own. And then Neve read it and heard the pitch, and she signed on. And I was still just the executive producer who was just sort of there, watching from the sidelines.

And then Neve called me one day and said, “I think you should direct this.” And I went, “No, no, no, no, no… okay, I’ll do it.”

What Kevin Williamson’s Comments Mean For Scream 7

Williamson Is Excited About Scream 7

Ortega and Barrera played Tara and Sam Carptenter, the main characters of the last two Scream movies. Since they survived the events of the sixth movie, it was initially expected that they would both appear in the upcoming Scream 7. However, Barrera was fired from the movie in 2023 due to her social media posts about the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine. Just after Barrera’s controversial firing, Ortega left the project as well. This meant that Scream 7 had to undergo a complete creative overhaul.

Because of this, Scream 7 will now follow Sidney Prescott, the original lead of the franchise. The fifth movie, which acted as a soft reboot for the franchise, revealed that Sidney has a husband and children, but didn’t actually show them. Therefore, Scream 7 will reveal a lot more about her personal life. Additionally, the cast of the upcoming horror movie will include Mason Gooding and Jasmine Savoy Brown, two members of the “Core Four,” as well as Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Matthew Lillard, even though the latter two’s characters have seemingly died in previous films.

Our Take On Kevin Williamson’s Comments About Scream 7

Scream 7’s Story Will Likely Be Very Unpredictable

As someone who really liked Scream VI, I was very disappointed to learn neither Ortega nor Barrera would return for the seventh film. However, it seems like Williamson is very excited about the story of Scream 7. Based on his comments, it’s clear that writers Jamie Vanderbilt and Guy Busick came up with a great story for the next entry in the horror franchise.

Therefore, even though it has faced multiple hurdles and some controversy, there is still reason to be excited for Scream 7, and it should be interesting to see how Williamson is as a director.