The Original Directors of ‘Scream 7’ Share Their Bold Vision for the Film
In the wake of the tumultuous journey surrounding Scream 7, the directing duo behind the franchise, Radio Silence, is sharing insights into their initial vision for the anticipated slasher film.
Directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett discussed the challenges they faced and their desire to push boundaries in their approach to Scream 7 before stepping away from the project to focus on their upcoming movie, Abigail (2024). Christopher Landon has taken over directing duties in their absence.
“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 explained to Entertainment Weekly. “The thing that we had in our minds for Scream 7 was sort of like, ‘How hard can we go with this?’ For us, it was always this idea of, [if] Scream VI is like a secret feel-good movie, Scream 7‘s going to f*ck you up. That was as much as we ever got to.”
Gillett added, “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 ultra-contained, almost continuous, 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.’”
While specific details about the film’s direction remain scarce, Skeet Ulrich hinted at intriguing possibilities for his character Billy Loomis’ daughter, Sam Carpenter (played by Melissa Barrera), and her sister, Tara (Jenna Ortega), in what he described as a “really, really interesting” sequel. However, Barrera’s involvement in the film ended abruptly when she was let go over comments made on social media regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict.
Reflecting on his absence from the upcoming film, Ulrich expressed enthusiasm for the direction Scream 7 is taking under the new creative leadership. “I’m not involved. I’m really excited though. I’m excited for [original Scream (1996) writer] Kevin Williamson to take the helm and to see what the mastermind of it all comes up with. I have no clue.”
Ulrich further shared that his return for the previous two films was intended to set the stage for a three-picture arc involving his character. “I used to know because part of coming back for five and six was being a part of seven. 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.”
In November 2023, Spyglass Entertainment terminated Barrera’s contract, citing her social media posts as crossing the line into hate speech, with the company expressing “zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form.”
Shortly after Barrera’s exit, Jenna Ortega also withdrew from the franchise, acknowledging that the sequel was “all kind of falling apart” without Barrera as the new ‘final girl.’ Christopher Landon, the newly appointed director, subsequently stepped down due to receiving threats involving his family.
In March 2024, Neve Campbell was reinstated in her role as the original ‘final girl,’ Sidney Prescott, with Williamson back to direct following her previous absence over compensation issues for Scream VI.
Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett attend the premiere of ‘Abigail’ on April 17, 2024 in Los Angeles, California.
Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott in ‘Scream 7’
