It’s now been a whole year since one of the most popular movie franchises on the planet decided to shoot itself in the foot (or maybe stab itself in the stomach?) by giving its leading star the boot. In November 2023, Spyglass Media axed Melissa Barrera from Scream 7, forcing the film to go back to the drawing board, after her outspoken support for Palestine amid the Israel-Hamas conflict. 12 months later, the Abigail actress has reflected on what the past year has been like.
Luckily for Barrera, she had a couple of major new projects in the can prior to her Scream 7 firing, so it’s not like she hasn’t been on our screens in 2024 — she reunited with Scream and Scream VI‘s Radio Silence filmmakers for the aforementioned vampire flick Abigail and now she’s back in horror romcom Your Monster. Even so, behind the scenes, the 34-year-old star has admitted that it has been “the darkest and hardest year” of her life.
“There were times where I felt like my life was over”: Melissa Barrera comes clean on career struggles after Scream 7 axing
To promote Your Monster, Melissa Barrera voluntarily opened up about the career challenges she faced in the wake of her removal from the Scream franchise. While speaking to Independent, the actress — who starred as the series’ new protagonist, Sam Carpenter, the daughter of original Ghostface killer, Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) — admitted how many doors that were wide open became closed to her.
“It was the darkest and hardest year of my life, and I had to reevaluate everything,” Barrera revealed. “There were times where I felt like my life was over.” Although she was a star with multiple leading performances under her belt, she explains that these kind of offers quickly disappeared in the wake of Spyglass’ divisive decision.
“It was quiet for, like, 10 months,” she said. “I was still getting offers for small things here and there – I’m not going to lie and say there was nothing – but [the message] was, like, ‘Oh, she probably doesn’t have work, she’ll say yes to anything.””
Thankfully, it looks like Barrera’s luck is changing. In October this year, she was cast alongside Marvel and Barbie actor Simu Liu in a spy-themed Peacock original series from blockbuster director James Wan. A new show on a major streaming platform working alongside an A-list actor and filmmaker? That’s what you call a comeback.
“It was exactly what I needed to ease myself back into the industry and do something fun that’s not going to destroy me emotionally,” Barrera noted, about her upcoming, and untitled, Peacock show. “And, most importantly, I’m finding the right people to work with.”
As for Scream 7, both co-star and on-screen sister Jenna Ortega and director Christopher Landon exited the project in solidarity with Barrera, which forced Spyglass to coax original franchise creator Kevin Williamson back to direct and Neve Campbell to return as Sidney Prescott once more. Filming is gearing up on that ahead of its faraway release on Feb. 27, 2026. Who knows, maybe the film will be a huge hit, but it’s fair to say it will always be stained by its messy behind-the-scenes upheaval. At least Barrera has ultimately been able to escape that scary situation unscathed.