Like something out of a horror movie.
Director Christopher Landon has broken his silence on the real reason he exited “Scream VII” two years ago.
The “Drop” director, who stepped away from “Scream VII” in December 2023, revealed that he departed the slasher sequel over “aggressive” death threats against his children following Melissa Barrera’s firing from the franchise.
“It was a very dark and tumultuous experience,” he told Vanity Fair on Tuesday. “I was gobsmacked and in shock for a while, but I’m at a place now where I can talk about it because I was able to use that unpleasant experience and turn it into something positive.”
“People were threatening to kill me and my family, to the point where the FBI was getting involved,” Landon, 50, continued. “I got messages saying, ‘I’m going to find your kids, and I’m going to kill them because you support child murder.’”
“The head of security at various studios and the FBI had to examine the threats,” he added. “It was highly aggressive and really scary.”
Barrera, 34, was axed from “Scream VII” in November 2023 after she made several statements about Israel and Palestine on social media.
Landon was named the new director of “Scream VII” in August 2023 after the original directors, Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, dropped out due to scheduling conflicts after Spyglass allegedly tried to fast-track the film.
While Landon was signed on as director when Barrera was fired, he clarified that he “had no control” over her exit.
“I think in the absence of people understanding how Hollywood works and what the hierarchy is, the fans were like, ‘That’s the guy,’” he explained Tuesday. “And so they came for me, knives out.”
“I did not fire her,” Landon emphasized. “A lot of people think I had something to do with it, and it was not my doing. I had no control of the situation at all.”
Following his decision to step away from the “Scream VI” sequel in December 2023, Landon described the project as “a dream job that turned into a nightmare.”
“I decided I didn’t want to give any part of myself to that,” he reflected. “For me, it was not worth it. I would rather put my efforts into something else, where I could feel appreciated and respected.”
“The hate and abuse really spoiled it for me, and I lost my love for the idea of going forward,” Landon added. “In the midst of all the chaos, I was grieving the loss of one of my dream jobs.”
Jenna Ortega, who played Barrera’s on-screen sister in “Scream VI,” recently broke her silence on the real reason why she departed the horror sequel back in 2023.
While it was initially reported that Ortega, 22, left the franchise due to both “pay and scheduling issues,” she has since clarified that it was actually because Barrera was fired and would not be returning.
Ortega and Barrera played on-screen sisters Tara and Sam Carpenter in both “Scream” (2022) and “Scream VI” (2023).
The “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice” actress also said that she exited the franchise because Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin were not coming back to direct.
“The Melissa stuff was happening, and it was all kind of falling apart,” the “Wednesday” actress explained Monday. “If ‘Scream VII’ wasn’t going to be with that team of directors and those people I fell in love with, then it didn’t seem like the right move for me in my career at the time.”
Kevin Williamson, the franchise’s original screenwriter, has since replaced Landon as director for “Scream VII.”
