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The Scream franchise has lost Melissa Barrera after her recent Instagram posts. Regardless of what you think of the decision, it puts the franchise into a really tricky spot going forward.
Where does Scream go from here?
Update: Deadline is reporting that Jenna Ortega is not returning for Scream 7
It's not as if Barrera was a no-name with a small role. Her character, Sam Carpenter, was positioned as the next Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) of the series. While her performance in the 2022 was less than inspiring, the franchise seemed committed to her.
In some ways, Barrera was like the Roman Reigns of the Scream franchise. The entire pop culture world fell in love with Jenna Ortega, who plays Tara Carpenter, Sam's sister. Thanks to the iconic opening scene and Ortega's natural screen presence, she was the fan favorite.
Like Roman Reigns in the early part of his post-Shield career, it was clear that the filmmakers — Radio Silence's Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett — and writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick were committed to Barrera. She was the focal point of the 2022 “requel” even if the fanbase probably wanted more of Tara.
That's not the actresses' fault, you can only do what you're told, but she could have been better in the film. Her lack of chemistry with Jack Quaid's character — who is not only her love interest but one of the film's Ghostfaces — hindered the film.
Coming back stronger
To her credit, Barrera did handle it like a champ. She came back to the sixth film rejuvenated. Her leap from the fifth to sixth film are huge and noticeable. She was handed more dramatic work in Scream 6, but she answered the call.
In the films, Sam is tormented by the ghost of her father, Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich). This was introduced in the fifth film, but the conflict between the light and dark side is heavily featured in the sixth. Sam has to resort to killing just like her father, and brutally beats down the Ghostfaces that are after her and her sister.
Who knows where the Scream franchise was going to go. Radio Silence moved on as Freaky director Christopher Landon was named the seventh film's director. It's possible that a new regime would have wanted to shift focus to other characters, but it's also possible Sam's inner conflict would have continued to be highlighted.
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That's why her termination from the franchise is a big shame. Take the politics out of it, it's leaving the franchise in an odd spot. Will we ever find out if Sam turns to the dark side? It doesn't seem likely anymore.
Writing her out
Luckily, it won't be hard for the writers of Scream 7 to writer Barrera's character out. At the end of the sixth film, Sam's love interest, Danny (Josh Segarra), doesn't seem to be a bad guy. They could move out of New York and make a life for themselves elsewhere while the rest of the gang takes on the next Ghostface.
The writers and filmmakers of the Scream series going forward are helped by the fact that Sam is the older sibling. Remember, Tara doesn't even want her in New York City, but the older sibling felt the need to be there for her. The ending of Scream 6 also indicates that Sam is ready to let go of her overprotective nature and let Tara live
Still, the remaining members of the Woodsboro gang will have to step up. Ortega is a known entity, and a great performance can be expected. Pivoting her into the leading role seems like the natural next step and one most would welcome.
It remains to be seen if Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding, who play the Meeks twins Mindy and Chad, can lead the franchise. The latter seems to have struck up a romance with Tara while the former has always been the most charismatic of the new-age group.
Going forward
This isn't to suggest that it will be seamless. I'm sure that the first few explanations of why Sam isn't present will be awkward. But this is the hand that has been dealt to the filmmakers going forward. A sudden exit isn't a wholly new concept. Other franchises have pivoted before. The Scream franchise will have to make chicken salad out of chicken crap.
Melissa Barrera's exit from the series is an unfortunate situation. The series no longer has its hand-picked successor to Neve Campbell. Perhaps a call is made to rekindle that relationship and bring Sidney Prescott back into the fold.
