Although the seventh instalment in the Scream franchise is still in the works (as far as we know), the amount of setbacks the project has encountered over the past couple of months has led to speculation that Spyglass/Paramount may have decided to cut their losses and pull the plug.
While the movie may ultimately wind up being shelved, Mason Gooding - who played the seemingly immortal Chad Meeks-Martin in the previous two films - is confident that the project will still move forward.
"If it could make money, I guarantee you, they’ll make it,” the actor told Variety at Vanity Fair and Instagram’s pre-Oscars Vanities party.
As for whether Gooding is set to reprise his role, it sounds like things are still up in the air. “It’s one of those things where you wait to hear from the people that make the big decisions,” he said.
Late last year, the news broke that Melissa Barrera had been fired from Scream VII for sharing "anti-Semitic" comments on social media, with Spyglass Entertainment releasing a statement explaining why they decided to drop her from the film shortly after, citing "rhetoric that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech." We'd later learn that Jenna Ortega had also parted ways with the horror sequel, but actually left the project some time before Barrera's firing.
More recently, director Christopher Landon announced that he had also decided to step away from the film.
“I guess now is as good a time as any to announce I formally exited Scream 7 weeks ago," the filmmaker wrote on Twitter. "This will disappoint some and delight others. It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare. And my heart did break for everyone involved. Everyone. But it’s time to move on.” “I have nothing more to add to the conversation other than I hope Wes’ legacy thrives and lifts above the din of a divided world. What he and Kevin created is something amazing and I was honored to have even the briefest moment basking in their glow.”
We still don't know what the studio has in store for the franchise, but according to a recent THR report, "the future of Scream VII rests on James Vanderbilt, the writer-producer who co-wrote the rebooted movies and who is writing the current script. Sources say that the scribe, who was already contending with Ortega’s loss, had been focusing the story on Barrera’s character."
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