Protests, foul reviews, shady director: Inside the biggest car crash of 2026, Scream 7

After decades of dominating the horror genre and making the next generation question why they’re attracted to Ghostface, Scream 7 might have torpedoed future instalments.

The first film, released back in 1996, set a gold standard for subsequent slasher films. Though not all Scream films are created equal, with some painfully worse than others, there’s no denying that it’s one of the more popular horror franchises alongside Halloween, The Conjuring films, and Evil Dead.

So what went wrong? Let’s take a look.

It all started with Scream’s sacking of Melissa Barrera

Credit: Paramount

After more than a decade, Scream returned to our lives in 2022 with a fresh take on the slasher format. Former stars returned, but moreso to pass the baton over to Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Mason Gooding, and Jasmin Savoy Brown. They were to be the next generation, and the film recieved 82 per cent on Rotten Tomatoes. 2023’s Scream VI got 90 per cent.

Unfortunately, after sharing support for Palestine and condemning Israel’s genocide in Gaza, Melissa Barrera was sacked from the franchise, leaving the new wave of films without a lead. Her firing marked the start of a downward spiral.

Jenna Ortega left Scream soon after

Credit: Paramount

Just days after Melissa’s firing, Jenna Ortega left the Scream franchise as well. At the time, it was claimed to be due to scheduling conflicts with Netflix’s Wednesday, but Jenna herself refuted that.

“The Melissa stuff was happening, and it was all kind of falling apart,” she explained. “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.”

Then, director Christopher Landon left

Scream’s director, Christopher Landon, left “about a week” after Melissa’s sacking. In his book, he said there was “no movie” without Melissa.

“There was no movie anymore. The whole script was about her,” he wrote. “I didn’t sign on to make ‘a ‘Scream’ movie.’ I signed on to make that movie. When that movie no longer existed, I moved on.”

The whole film was rewritten, and it cost big bucks

lowest rated film in the scream franchise, entire script leaked months ago, footage of act 3 released last week, acting shitty in general, they spent $500k on script rewrites just for it still to suck. i hope firing and betraying melissa was worth itpic.twitter.com/TbR0QQlEA9 https://t.co/jM5OnkrMyw

— jolt (@meltborne) February 26, 2026

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With no leading stars, no director, and zero direction, Scream was forced to do script rewrites that totalled a staggering $500k. The changes included bringing OG star Neve Campbell back after she sat out of Scream VI over pay disputes. She was reportedly paid $7 million for her return this time.

People dragged the film using AI

Even in the lead-up to Scream 7’s release, it was a dumpster fire. For some reason, the film teamed up with Meta to provide people the chance to insert themselves into the movie with generative AI.

The reviews for Scream 7 have been foul

Credit: Paramount

Currently, Scream 7 has 38 per cent from critics and 78 per cent from the audience. It’s the lowest-rated addition to the franchise, and the reviews have been awful.

“Naively, I thought the shameful firing of Melissa Barrera was the low point of this project, then, unfortunately, I saw the film,” one person wrote.

Another said: “Oh, I get it, they burnt the house down where it all began because they burnt the franchise to the ground.”

There are widespread boycotts of the film, and the director reacted

Credit: Instagram

The firing of Melissa Barrera over her support for Palestine has led to widespread boycotts of the film. There were even pro-Palestine protests outside of the premiere. The new director, Kevin Williamson, was soon dragged for his reaction to the protests.

“We live in a world where a lot of bad things are happening out there, and I think a lot of people want to be heard and they want to have their voice heard about the bad stuff that’s happening,” he said on the red carpet. “I don’t know if cancelling Paramount+ is the way to do it. But I think people should listen to their inner self and do what feels good for them.”

The backlash has not gone unnoticed, and Melissa posted “I see you” on her Instagram story alongside a love heart.

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Featured image credit: Paramount