How Scream 7 Addresses Melissa Barrera and Jenna Orega’s Characters (And Fans Won’t Like It)

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The 2022 Scream movie successfully achieved two difficult things: it showed the Scream series could continue without its original creators, and that new actors could effectively take over from the main stars. While David Arquette and Neve Campbell still appeared, the film largely relied on Melissa Barrera and newcomers Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown, and Mason Gooding. This group, quickly dubbed the “core four,” became the new face of the franchise and carried that role into Scream VI.

After the decent performance of the last Scream movie, everyone expected the story of Sam and Tara Carpenter to continue. But things fell apart when Melissa Barrera was fired and Jenna Ortega decided to leave the franchise. This meant Scream 7 needed a complete overhaul. Now that the film is finally here, many of us were bracing ourselves, wondering how they’d address the absence of those two key characters. And, well, spoiler alert, they don’t, not in any meaningful way. The film pretty much ignores their story arc, which is… a choice.

Scream 7 Ignores the Carpenter Sisters (Except for One Moment)

The latest installment, Scream 7, primarily takes place in a new town called Pine Grove, focusing on Sidney Prescott’s life with her family. The film largely ignores the characters of Sam and Tara Carpenter. While the opening scene is set in the original location of Woodsboro, the rest of the movie moves away from there and focuses on the new setting.

However, Scream 7 briefly mentions Sam Carpenter without providing any update on what’s happening with her story. The film does bring back Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding as Mindy and Chad Meeks-Martin – they’re the only returning characters from the more recent Scream movies. During a conversation about potential Ghostface killers – including the theory that Stu Macher, played by Matthew Lillard, is still alive and responsible – Mindy makes a smart point.

Mindy thinks it would be unbelievable for a character presumed dead for three decades to suddenly reappear. However, she admits anything is possible, pointing to a past plot twist where a major character had a secret child. Specifically, she’s referring to Sam Carpenter from Scream (2022), who was revealed to be the daughter of the original killer, Billy Loomis, and is still affected by his legacy.

So, that’s pretty much the only mention of Sam Carpenter in Scream 7. It’s interesting that the movie doesn’t really say anything about what’s happening with Sam or Tara, which I take to mean they’re still out there and could potentially come back in a future film. But honestly, after all the controversy surrounding their exit, I’m not holding my breath. It feels like that door is closed for now, and the movie just sort of glosses over everything. Hopefully, things will change with time, but right now, a return seems unlikely.

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2026-02-27 23:41