From the lead star being axed from the project and director Christopher Landon dropping out altogether to the horror community absolutely trashing the concept all over the web, there’s absolutely no denying that Scream 7 has now become nothing but a total afterthought, and regarded as an utter joke in the process. Of course, the firing of Melissa Barrera has been the driving force of the movie’s deflation — with the majority of the horror community standing beside Barrera, who was shockingly fired after using her right to express opinions on the ongoing conflict between Israel and Palestine.
Aa you can imagine, Barrera being dropped from the film influenced a plethora of backlash and outrage, which then led Landon to bow out as director of the horror film and fellow star Jenna Ortega to announce she wouldn’t be returning for the project — leaving the seventh installment in the Scream franchise without its two modern-day leading stars and its director. Yikes. Fear not, however, for I have listed several ways in which the acclaimed film series can still be saved from utter embarrassment.
And while slaughtering the Gale Weathers character might seem like an obvious route to take, the truth of the matter is that choice is incredibly lazy, and honestly, it definitely wouldn’t save the franchise from complete embarrassment. Instead, there are 5 other ways that could surely help restore the long-running horror series back to order and make spooky supporters interested again.
1. Spyglass Media sells the rights to a different studio
Before I include any other option on this list, this is undoubtedly the first step that needs to be taken in order for Scream 7 to succeed. After firing Barrera for her own personal views, Spyglass Media has experienced an absolute lashing online — with a large portion of the horror community insisting that Spyglass should sell its rights for Scream 7 and allow another studio to take on the installment. If any embarrassment is going to be saved, then Spyglass needs to listen to the people and bow out.
2. Melissa Barrera is brought back
The second way for Scream 7 to leave this cloud of embarrassment in the rearview mirror is for Melissa Barrera to immediately be hired once the horror film is in the hands of a different studio. Right now, rumors have circulated that a complete reboot of the franchise is set to happen, but bringing Barrera is definitely the right move and will allow her Sam Carpenter character to finish her story and expand her journey against the Ghostface killer. Speaking truthfully, the franchise, at this point in time, needs Barrera leading the charge.
3. An intriguing, hopeful director is brought in
Without a doubt, losing Christopher Landon was a huge loss for the franchise’s future, but that certainly doesn’t necessarily mean that another fresh-faced, determined director can’t step into the director’s chair and deliver a worthy chapter. In the past, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett have done an exceptional job in the film series, so perhaps the duo could even be brought back. If not, the horror genre is crawling with a variety of accomplished auteurs who could definitely give the Scream franchise a try.
4. Matthew Lillard and/or Patrick Dempsey are brought back
For as long as I can personally remember, Scream fanatics have forever been championing for the long-awaited returns of both villain Stu Macher and Detective Mark Kincaid. The former, of course, was a formidable baddie alongside Billy Loomis, while Kincaid eventually married Sidney after helping her against Ghostface in Scream 3. Despite one character being good and the other being bad (and also probably dead) both figures are immensely popular within the long-standing horror extravaganza, and both are certainly needed all these years later.
5. Neve Campbell is brought back
I mean, if Patrick Dempsey is finally brought back as Detective Mark Kincaid, it only makes sense for his wife Sidney to be brought back too, right? Not only that, but in a time of crisis and trying to restore the name of the Scream franchise, it feels like bringing back legacy characters for this particular chapter seems like the best move possible. And considering how massively popular and untouchable Sidney truly is, not featuring the character in the sixth movie definitely felt as though something was just missing. All in all, Neve Campbell coming back for the seventh movie is surely a necessary move that would help save this train wreck.