Original 'Scream 7' Directors Wanted to 'F*ck You Up'

Radio Silence reflects on their scrapped vision for the slasher sequel before departing the project.

Published on Feb. 28, 2026

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Following the long and tumultuous development of Scream 7, the original directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett of the filmmaking collective Radio Silence have opened up about their intended vision for the slasher sequel. They wanted to take the franchise in a much darker direction after the more 'feel-good' Scream VI, with plans to make 7 an 'ultra-contained, almost continuous, minute-to-minute' experience that would 'f*ck you up.' However, the pair ultimately left the project to direct their vampire ballerina film Abigail, leading to a series of behind-the-scenes shakeups.

Why it matters

The Scream franchise has long been known for its meta-commentary on slasher tropes, and the directors' comments suggest they wanted to subvert audience expectations even further with a much more intense and unsettling seventh installment. Their departure, along with the firing of star Melissa Barrera and other key creative changes, highlight the challenges of sustaining a long-running horror series in Hollywood.

The details

Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett recently told Entertainment Weekly that their vision for Scream 7 was to take the franchise in a much darker direction than the more 'feel-good' Scream VI. They wanted to make an 'ultra-contained, almost continuous, minute-to-minute' experience that would 'f*ck you up.' However, the pair had left the project to direct their vampire ballerina film Abigail before they could fully develop their ideas. Skeet Ulrich, who played the original Scream's murderous character Billy Loomis, also teased that the sequel was supposed to explore his character's daughter Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) and her sister Tara (Jenna Ortega) in a 'really, really interesting' way. But Barrera was later fired from the franchise over her social media posts on the Israel-Hamas conflict, leading Ortega to also exit. Director Christopher Landon also dropped out due to 'highly aggressive and really scary' death threats targeting his children.

  • In November 2023, Melissa Barrera was fired from the Scream franchise.
  • In March 2024, Neve Campbell was brought back to reprise her role as Sidney Prescott.

The players

Matt Bettinelli-Olpin

One half of the directing duo Radio Silence, who were originally set to direct Scream 7 before departing the project.

Tyler Gillett

The other half of the directing duo Radio Silence, who were originally set to direct Scream 7 before departing the project.

Melissa Barrera

The actress who was set to play the new 'final girl' Sam Carpenter in Scream 7, but was fired from the franchise in November 2023 over her social media posts on the Israel-Hamas conflict.

Jenna Ortega

The actress who was set to play Tara, the sister of Melissa Barrera's character, in Scream 7, but exited the project after Barrera's firing.

Christopher Landon

The director who temporarily stepped in to helm Scream 7 after Radio Silence's departure, but later dropped out due to 'highly aggressive and really scary' death threats targeting his children.

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What they’re saying

“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. 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*ck you up. That was as much as we ever got to.”

— Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Director, Radio Silence (Entertainment Weekly)

“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.'”

— Tyler Gillett, Director, Radio Silence (Entertainment Weekly)

“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.”

— Skeet Ulrich (Entertainment Weekly)

What’s next

With the original directors and stars departing, Scream 7 is now being helmed by original Scream writer Kevin Williamson, who is tasked with steering the franchise in a new direction after the behind-the-scenes turmoil.

The takeaway

The tumultuous development of Scream 7 highlights the challenges of sustaining a long-running horror franchise, as creative visions clash and key talent departs. While the original directors had ambitious plans to take the series in a much darker direction, their exit led to a series of shakeups that ultimately resulted in the franchise returning to its roots with original writer Kevin Williamson at the helm.