Melissa Barrera is at peace with Sam Carpenter's arc ending in Scream 6.
Introduced in the fifth film, Barrera's Sam was positioned as the new Sidney Prescott-type lead of the series. This was especially evident when Neve Campbell sat out of the sixth film. Barrera and Jenna Ortega, who plays Sam's sister Tara, stepped up to the plate.
Scream 6 was a huge hit. The film grossed over $168 million at the box office, making $108 million domestically. A seventh film was green-lit, but Barrera was fired from the film. This came as a result of social media posts from the star about the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Shortly after, Ortega left the project as well (albeit for scheduling issues). The film also lost director Christopher Landon. Spyglass ultimately had to backpedal, bringing Campbell back into the fold. Scream creator Kevin Williamson will direct the film with Campbell and Courtney Cox.
But Barrera is at peace with how Sam's arc ended. Sam leans into her dark roots and fights off the trio of Ghostfaces. She also stares into the Ghostface mask donned by her father, Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), before discarding it.
While fans may have wanted to see her story continue, she was only under contract for two films. However, she acknowledged that there may have been a plan for a trilogy of films with Sam Carpenter at the forefront.
Scream 6's “very good ending”
Speaking to Collider, Melissa Barrera discussed leaving the franchise. If she never returns to the series, she appears to be okay with it.
“I feel like the ending of [Scream 6] was a very good ending, and so I don't feel like ‘Ugh, I got left in the middle,'” Barrera said. “No, I think people, the fans, were wanting a third movie to continue that arc, and apparently, the plan was a trilogy, even though I was only contracted for two movies.
“So, I did my two movies, and I'm fine. I'm good with that. I got two — that's more than most people get. When you're on a TV show, and it gets canceled, you can't harp on things, you gotta move on. That's the nature of this industry too, I get excited for the next job, I get excited for the next skin I get to put on,” Barrera continued.
In the end, Barrera is just excited about the new characters she will play. And she “did what I set out to do” in the Scream franchise. “It was always meant to be two movies for me, ‘csue that was my contact, and so everything is perfect,” she said.
A great support system
The Scream exit must have been hard on Barrera. She gave a shoutout to her close friends and publicists who stuck with her during that time.
“I have always been very careful of having people on my team that are good human beings that everybody likes, that are good people, and that are also really good at their jobs,” Barrera confessed. “And that we are on the same page in a lot of things. I feel very, very lucky and fortunate that I have a great team all around.
“My publicists have been incredible in the last six months of my life, and it's just been amazing to have that support, because it's important. It can be make-or-break for your mental health to feel that your team has your back, or that you're alone, [it] can be terrible,” she continued.
Coming up, Melissa Barrera will be just fine. She will star in Abigail from Radio Silence's Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. The duo previously directed Barrera in Scream 5 and 6.
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