‘Wednesday’ Star Finally Addresses Shocking Exit, Future of Hit Series Unknown

Jenna Ortega is one of the biggest stars on the Hollywood scene. Though many believe she made a name for herself as the morbid Addams Family teen in the hit Netflix series Wednesday (2022 — ongoing), it’s the Scream franchise that shot her to stardom.

Wednesday certainly made Ortega a household name — there’s no doubt about that. But her appearance in the 2022 slasher sequel helped to etch her face into the minds of many, so by the time The Addams Family spinoff came around, we were already familiar.

But before Scream and Wednesday, she debuted in another huge franchise: Jurassic World. Unless you’re a Jurassic fan, you might not know that Jenna Ortega voiced Brooklynn in all five seasons of the animated series Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous (2020 — 2022).

Related: After Seemingly Exiting Hit Netflix Series, Jenna Ortega Becomes New Batgirl

Jenna Ortega Drops Out of Two Massive Franchises

However, the latest series, titled Jurassic World: Chaos Theory (2024), which takes place years later, was forced to recast Ortega. Before the show’s premiere on Netflix in May, showrunners Scott Kreamer and Aaron Hammersley told IGN the star’s exit was the result of a “busy schedule” that made it “impossible” for her to return.

This was likely in reference to shooting Wednesday Season 2 and other potential projects.

As such, she was replaced by Kiersten Kelly, who’ll be returning to play Brooklynn in Jurassic World: Chaos Theory Season 2 later this year. In other words, the series will continue without her.

Jenna Ortega’s Exit From Another Hit Teen Series

Jurassic World: Chaos Theory isn’t the only hit teen series Ortega has bowed out from. Last year, she famously exited Scream 7 after her co-star Melissa Barrera was fired for sharing a controversial social media post about the ongoing Israel-Hamas conflict.

Ortega first entered the meta-slasher series with Scream (2022), playing Tara Carpenter, opposite Melissa’s Sam Carpenter. The sisters returned for Scream VI (2023) and were due to face the Ghostface killers once again in Scream 7, but clearly, it wasn’t meant to be.

Speculation about Ortega’s Scream 7 exit ranges from salary disputes to scheduling conflicts. Now, in an interview with Vanity Fair, the Wednesday star has finally broken her silence. While she doesn’t discuss her own departure, she does valiantly defend her co-star.

Related: Jenna Ortega Faces Freddy Krueger in ‘Elm Street’ Reboot Trailer

Jenna Ortega’s Scream 7 Comments

“The business that we work in is so touchy-feely,” Ortega said of Barrera’s controversial firing. “Everybody wants to be politically correct, but I feel like, in doing that, we lose a lot of our humanity and integrity, because it lacks honesty.”

“I wish that we had a better sense of conversation,” she added. “Imagine if everyone could say what they felt and not be judged for it and, if anything, it sparked some sort of debate, not an argument.”

In response to Barrera’s tweets, which included resharing a post that accused Israel of “genocide and ethnic cleansing” but which appears to have since been removed, Scream production company Spyglass Media said it had “zero tolerance for antisemitism”.

Will Scream 7 Continue Without Jenna Ortega?

With its two lead stars now completely out of the picture (four if you include Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding Jr.), Scream 7 has taken on a new form, and earlier this year, Neve Campbell was reinstated as final girl Sidney Prescott while at the same time it was announced that Scream (1996), Scream 2 (1997), and Scream 4 (2011) writer Kevin Williamson would be director.

Campbell, 50, exited Scream VI before cameras started rolling due to a salary dispute. In an obvious attempt to distract fans, the sequel abandoned the sleepy town of Woodsboro for a fresh New York City outing, throwing in buckets of extra gore in the process.

Now, it seems those distraction tactics continue. Understandably, Spyglass wanted to save the sequel and so a new script was inevitable, as was a new director, with Christopher Landon being the third to exit Scream VI after Ortega and Barrera, but Campbell’s return feels ever so slightly desperate.

Related: After Exiting Two Massive Franchises, Jenna Ortega Becomes New Lara Croft: Tomb Raider

How the Film Might Address Jenna Ortega’s Exit

Of course, her return will take the story in a completely different direction to what was originally intended. Rumor has it that the film will focus on Sidney Prescott’s teenage children as they deal with a new Ghostface, which would involve a significant time-jump since the last film.

How the film intends to deal with the absence of Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera — and the rest of the “Core Four” (Jasmin Savoy Brown’s Mindy Meeks and Mason Gooding Jr.’s Chad Meeks) — remains to be seen, but the rumored time-jump may be all it needs.

Fans of Jenna Ortega needn’t worry, though — she’ll soon be returning to Nevermore Academy in Wednesday Season 2. And, later this year, she’ll be appearing in the highly-anticipated, long-awaited Tim Burton sequel Beetlejuice, Beetlejuice (2024).

Will you watch Scream 7 without Jenna Ortega? Let us know in the comments down below!