The bond Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera formed in two Scream movies is apparently so strong that the Abigail lead wants to reunite with the Wednesday star in another film.
Ortega and Barrera play sisters Tara and Sam Carpenter in 2022’s Scream and 2023’s Scream VI. Neither Ortega nor Barrera will appear in Scream VII.
According to Variety, Scream VII production company Spyglass Media dropped Barrera from the film in November 2023 after the actor posted support for Palestine following Hamas’ attacks on Israel the month before. In a statement to Variety, a spokesperson said the production company had interpreted Barrera’s posts as antisemitic.
Shortly after, Deadline reported, Ortega left Scream VII due to scheduling conflicts with the filming of the second season of Wednesday.
Since then, Ortega has starred in the indie drama Miller’s Girl while Barrera is starring in the lead in the new comedic horror thriller Abigail. While discussing the film with Comic Book, Barrera made no secret of wanting to reunite with Ortega on screen.
“I would love to work with her again. I do know that she does love horror, so it would probably be in something horror again that we would probably find each other again,” Barrera told Comic Book. “She’s incredible, and she’s genuinely a horror fan, so I know she’s constantly looking out for these projects. I think if we were to do something together again, it would definitely be horror.”
In addition to her Scream movies and her turn as Wednesday Addams in the playfully macabre series Wednesday, Ortega also starred opposite Mia Goth in the 2022 indie horror thriller X.
Barrera Reunited With Her ‘Scream’ Directors For ‘Abigail’
New in theaters, Abigail stars Melissa Barrera as Joey, a single mom struggling with addiction who resorts to crime as she tries to turn her life around.
Teaming up with five other would-be criminals, the crew kidnaps Abigail (Alisha Weir), the 12-year-old ballerina daughter of a powerful underworld figure. The job is organized by Lambert (Giancarlo Esposito), who tells Joey and her fellow crew members that they must keep watch over the girl in a remote mansion for 24 hours before they can collect $50 million in ransom money.
Soon after the crew settles into what appears to be a simple job, Abigail reveals herself to be a 1,000-year-old vampire who begins to hunt down her kidnappers one by one.
Abigail marks Barrera’s reunion with producer Chad Villella and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who as a team go by the name Radio Silence. The team previously worked with Barrera and Jenna Ortega on Scream and Scream VI.
Also starring Kathryn Newton, Dan Stevens, William Catlett, Kevin Durand and Angus Cloud as Joey’s fellow crew members, Abigail is now in theaters.
Abigail marks a somber occasion for the cast and Radio Silence since Euphoria star Cloud died of an accidental overdose in July 2023. Abigail includes a dedication to Cloud in the film’s end credits.
