The success of 2022’s Scream (the fifth in the series) and the 2024 follow-up Scream VI meant that this slasher franchise had a destiny with even more sequels. What no fan could have predicted ahead of the planned Scream 7, though, was how it would fall apart. It started when actress Melissa Barrera posted comments online in support of Palestine, with production company Spyglass noting that hey “zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form.” Plans for the movie shifted a lot after that, with other actors dropping out, a change in directors, but also in plot. In the end, Scream 7 came out and became the highest-grossing entry in the series.
That said, it hasn’t even been a year since the movie came out, and one of its biggest stars is already publicly noting that he regrets his return to the franchise. Though fans were excited to see Matthew Lillard make a comeback to Scream after three decades, the star himself has revealed that he has some intense feelings about his involvement in the movie, revealing at a fan Q&A this week (H/T EW) that he feels “ashamed” for being a part of it after the way that Barrera herself was treated.
While answering a question about being vocal about his political beliefs, Lillard’s philosophical answer got deep, saying: “I have queer kids. If I’m not standing up for queer kids or kids in the trans community, then what the f-ck am I doing? If I’m not standing up against ICE, then what the f-ck am I doing?”
Lillard went on to note, though, that it’s not easy all the time to stand up like that publicly, noting that Barrera’s firing over her comments about Palestine is “f-cking bullsh-t” and that the actress is “on the right side of history” even when very few others “didn’t pipe up” to speak in support of her.
“The whole world should have popped up and said, ‘She’s right.’ And they didn’t,” Lillard said. “And then I went back to do Scream, and I got called out. And I’m like, ‘Oh, f—. That’s brutal.’ I feel bad about that. I feel ashamed about that. Because in that moment I was so excited to go back (to the franchise), I didn’t really think about Melissa and that journey, and I didn’t say no. I’m embarrassed; that’s the truth… I blew that. I’m on the wrong side of history for that. I still like being in the movie [but] it may not have been the best idea.”
After Barrera was fired, one voice that did speak out in support of her at the time was hew fellow Scream franchise alum, the late Hayden Panettiere, who shared the screen with Barrera in Scream VI. At the time, Panettiere called the firing “very unfair and upsetting” but also arrived at a similar place that Lillard himself did, adding, “After she [spoke out], then a whole bunch of other actors and people in the industry started to do the same thing, right? It was almost like she just did it earlier than everyone else.”
Even with all of the comments made by others about Barrera’s firing, the actress herself has made it clear that she’s “very at peace” after the fact. In fact, her career has taken her to distinct places since then, making her Broadway debut in the musical Titanique and starring alongside Simu Liu in the Peacock original series, The Copenhagen Test.
As Barrera’s career continues its own trajectory, the Scream franchise is also set to continue. Development on the eighth movie in the series is underway with sisters Lilla and Nora Zuckerman set to pen the script.
