The original plan for Scream 7 was for Melissa Barrera to return as one of the lead characters after first appearing in 2022’s Scream and its sequel, Scream VI. After she was fired from the project for comments made online, Scream 7 was pivoted instead to bring back Neve Campbell as franchise fan favorite character Sidney Prescott.

In an interview with Decider, Barrera has shared her thoughts on Campbell returning to the franchise to take over as the lead in Scream 7. Barrera revealed that the two haven’t really stayed in touch, but with that noted, she said she respects Campbell’s decision to return for the sequel. While wishing Campbell well, however, it still doesn’t seem like Barrera will be rushing out to be front and center in the audience to watch Scream 7.

“We haven’t really spoken,” Barrera explained. “I think everyone makes their choices, and what they think is best for them. I fully respect what people think that they need to do, to keep going in this life.”

I fully respect what people think that they need to do, to keep going in this life.

Barrera lost her role in the Scream franchise last November when the seventh film was in pre-production. On Instagram, she addressed the Israel-Hamas war, commenting that Gaza was “being treated like a concentration camp.” She also noted, “Cornering everyone together, with nowhere to go, no electricity, no water… People have learned nothing from our histories. And just like our histories, people are still silently watching it all happen. THIS IS GENOCIDE & ETHNIC CLEANSING.”

This resulted in Spyglass Media announcing in a statement soon after that Barrera had been dropped from Scream 7 for using “hate speech” on social media. As the statement read, “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.”

Scream 7 Will Be Directed by Kevin Williamson

Scream 7 lost another lead shortly after Barrera’s exit, as Jenna Ortega, who played Barrera’s sister in the movie series, dropped out of the project. Originally, Christopher Landon was on board to direct Scream 7, but the filmmaker also departed the sequel amid the controversy over Barrera’s firing. It was later announced that Neve Campbell would be starring as Sidney Prescott and that Scream 7 will be directed by Kevin Williamson, one of the creators of the franchise who wrote the script for the original film.

Other familiar faces may be featured in Scream 7 alongside Campbell. Scream 3 star Patrick Dempsey recently confirmed he’s been in talks to possibly return as Mark Kincaid, the detective he played in the threequel. Courteney Cox is also expected to return as Gale, and she’s even been pushing for an appearance from David Arquette’s Dewey, despite the character’s previous fate.

Scream 7 will be released in theaters on Feb. 27, 2026. Filming is set to start in December.