After being plagued by controversy and cast upheavals for more than a year, filming is finally underway for Scream 7, but cast member Jasmin Savoy Brown has reignited the debate over whether the beloved horror franchise should continue after agreeing to return to play fan-fave character, Mindy Meeks-Martin.
After Melissa Barrera stirred up controversy and was unceremoniously fired last year, rumors started spreading about Brown’s role in the upcoming sequel. Now that it’s been announced that she’s returning for Scream 7, fans have taken to social media to express their feelings, of which there are a lot.
It was rumored that Brown had pulled out of Scream 7 last year in support of Barrera after she was fired for pro-Palestine social media posts. Barrera was dropped from the film after the Scream production company Spyglass Media Group claimed the posts she made in support of the Palestinian people, where she called Israel “colonized” land, were antisemitic.
“Spyglass’ stance is unequivocally clear: We have zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form, including false references to genocide, ethnic cleansing, Holocaust distortion or anything that flagrantly crosses the line into hate speech,” a Spyglass spokesperson tells Variety.
Barrera denied these claims, writing on Instagram, “First and foremost I condemn Anti-semitism and Islamophobia. I condemn hate and prejudice of any kind against any group of people,” Barrera wrote in an Instagram story upon getting fired. As a Latina, a proud Mexicana, I feel the responsibility of having a platform that allows me the privilege of being heard,” she said. “Therefore I have tried to use it to raise awareness about issues I care about and to lend my voice to those in need.”
In the fallout from Barrera’s firing, costar Jenna Ortega officially dropped out of the film due to scheduling conflicts, Variety reported, but there were rumors that she left in solidarity with Barrera. Then Brown was rumored to have left the cast in support of Barrera, though this was never confirmed.
Some fans were thrilled to find out the Brown would be reprising her role as one half of the Meeks twins, who became instant fan favorites after their first appearance in Scream 5.
"Honestly, Jasmin Savoy-Brown returning is more important to me than Patrick Dempsey. it really makes it feel like a more natural transition from Scream 6 to Scream 7. i’m so fucking happy rn,” a fan wrote on X (formerly Twitter)
While others were disappointed because they believed that Brown left the production in full support of Barrera and by extension, the plight of the people in Gaza.
So yesterday whenVarietyreported that she has signed on to return to play Mindy Meeks is Scream 7, some fans felt betrayed. After the news broke, fans took to X to call Brown a “performative fake woke loser” and voice their disappointment that “someone who pretended to have morals, integrity and a social conscience” turned out to be a “liar.”
But Savoy Brown is far from the only familiar face headed back for the Scream sequel.
Paramount Pictures
Kevin Williamson, who wrote the scripts for Scream, Scream 2, and Scream 4, is returning to the franchise to direct the seventh installment, a role originally filled by Christopher Landon before he left the film. Veterans Neve Campbell — who left the sixth film because she felt she was being underpaid — and Courtney Cox are also returning to play Sydney Prescott and Gale Weathers. What character does Jasmine Savoy Brown play? Mason Gooding, who played Mindy’s twin brother Chad in Scream 5 and 6, is also returning.
Brown plays Mindy Meeks-Martin, the first queer character in the franchise. In Scream 5, we find out that Mindy is the niece of the original Scream character Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy), best known as the horror movie expert who teaches the rest of the characters the “rules” of slasher films, a mantel that Mindy takes over in the fifth film.
The production of the film may have been steeped in controversy and frequent cast changes, but now that filming is underway and it's been confirmed that OG and new fan faves are returning if you're a fan of the series it's time to start getting excited for Scream 7!
