The new Scream sequel has been savaged by critics – but the originally planned version of the film would have been something entirely different.
Scream 7, the latest entry in the popular horror franchise, is directed by original Scream writer Kevin Williamson, and sees the return of Neve Campbell in the role of Sidney Prescott.
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who directed the fifth and sixth Scream films, were originally poised to direct the latest entry, before handing over the reins to Happy Death Day’s Christopher Landon, who subsequently departed the project amid star Melissa Barrera’s controversial firing.
In the wake of the new film’s release, Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett have revealed their original plans for the film.
“We never read a draft of any version of Scream 7 that we were going to do because we had left to do Abigail before that,” Bettinelli-Olpin told Entertainment Weekly. “The thing that we had in our minds for Scream 7 was sort of like, ‘How hard can we go with this?’ It was the thing that we talked a lot about.
“For us, it was always this idea of, [if] Scream VI is like a secret feel-good movie, Scream 7‘s going to f*** you up. That was as much as we ever got to.”
Gillett said that the idea for the sequel to the well-received Scream VI was to make the story “super-contained”.
“Given that we expanded the sort of scope of the story by going to New York, the other thing that we had talked about – just Matt and I, by the way, it wasn’t a conversation with the writers – was, ‘How do you do the opposite for 7?’ Like, shrink it down and make it this like ultra-contained, almost continuous, like minute-to-minute thing.
“But outside of our own stupid idea, we weren’t privy to any plan beyond just, ‘There’s gonna be another one.'”
Skeet Ulrich, who played murderer Billy Loomis in the original Scream and returned for the fifth and sixth installments, also gave fans a hint as to the intended direction of Scream 7.
“I used to know because part of coming back for five and six was being a part of seven,” he told the New York Post.
“It was a three-picture arc for Billy Loomis, or the imagination of Billy Loomis in Melissa Barrera’s character’s head. But when all that went down with her, obviously you lose her and you lose what’s in her head.”
Barrera was removed from Scream 7 in 2023, after sharing social media posts addressing Israel and Palestine. Production company Spyglass cited “antisemitism” and “the incitement of hate” in justifying the decision, which prompted a significant backlash and claims that Barrera had been “blacklisted”.
Barrera released her own statement at the time, which read: “First and foremost I condemn antisemitism and Islamophobia. I condemn hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people … I believe a group of people are NOT their leadership, and that no governing body should be above criticism.
“I pray day and night for no more deaths, for no more violence, and for peaceful co-existence. I will continue to speak out for those that need it most and continue to advocate for peace and safety, for human rights and freedom. Silence is not an option for me.”
Jenna Ortega, who starred alongside Barrera in the franchise, exited Scream 7 shortly after Barrera’s dismissal, as did Landon.
“I made my decision to walk away about a week after they fired her,” Landon said in an interview with author Ashley Cullins. “There was no movie anymore. The whole script was about her. 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.”
As a result of the controversy surrounding Barrera, the film has faced a boycott, and the film’s premiere was marred by protests.
On review aggregator website Rotten Tomatoes, the film currently holds a “rotten” critics’ score of just 34 per cent positive.
Scream 7 is in cinemas now.
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