Why Melissa Barrera & Jenna Ortega Aren't in 'Scream 7' & How the Movie Explains Their Absence
Scream 7 is now playing in theaters and fans have been quick to notice the absence of Carpenter sisters Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega.
Even though OG final girl Neve Campbell has returned to reprise her role of Sidney Prescott, there are a lot of people who miss Sam and Tara since they were the stars of both Scream 5 and Scream 6.
Melissa was fired in 2023 over social media posts she made about the Israel-Palestine conflict. Not long after, Jenna exited the franchise.
Instead of taking place in New York again, the story moves to a small town in Indiana.
While Jenna and Melissa did not return, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding did come back to reprise their roles as Mindy and Chad Meeks-Martin.
As for the absence of the Carpenter sisters in-universe, it’s not really touched on. There is one reference to Billy Loomis having a secret daughter (Sam), but she’s not mentioned by name.
Without spoiling too much, the killer in the new Scream is angry that Sidney “ran away” from the past Ghostface, a meta nod to Neve not returning over a pay dispute, which she recently talked about.