“Scream VII” Director Christopher Landon Exits Movie Following Departures of Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega

"It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare," Christopher Landon wrote on X as he announced he will no longer direct the upcoming seventh 'Scream' movie

The next Scream movie is in need of a new director.

Christopher Landon, the filmmaker who took over directing duties for Scream VII back in August, shared in a post on X (formerly Twitter) Saturday that he is no longer involved in the project.

Landon's departure from the forthcoming sequel follows November's news that neither Melissa Barrera nor Jenna Ortega, who costarred in the franchise's most recent two films, will appear in the next movie.

"I guess now is as good a time as any to announce I formally exited Scream 7 weeks ago. This will disappoint some and delight others," Landon wrote in his post. "It was a dream job that turned into a nightmare. And my heart did break for everyone involved. Everyone. But it’s time to move on."

"I have nothing more to add to the conversation other than I hope [original Scream director Wes Craven's] legacy thrives and lifts above the din of a divided world," the filmmaker shared. "What he and [producer/screenwriter Kevin Williamson] created is something amazing and I was honored to have even the briefest moment basking in their glow."

Related: Scream 7: Everything to Know About the Upcoming Movie

Landon, whose resume includes horror movies like Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014), Freaky (2020) and Happy Death Day (2017), first acknowledged he would be involved in Scream VII back in August. He took over directing duties from Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett, who directed this year's Scream VI and 2022's Scream and helped revive the franchise after Craven died at 76 in 2015.

Scream VI saw the series reach new highs when it scored the biggest opening weekend box office yet for the entire franchise. The film was also the first in the series to cross the $100 million mark domestically since 1997's Scream 2.

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The series' most recent films centered around Barrera and Ortega's characters, sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter, while also featuring legacy cast members like Courteney Cox and Hayden Panettiere. Previous series leads Neve Campbell and David Arquette appeared in the fifth Scream; Campbell did not return for the sixth due to a contract dispute.)

Related: 'Scream' Creator on Getting Neve Campbell Back to Franchise 'One Day': 'Give Her the Money!'

News broke in November that Barrera, 33, was fired from Scream VII by the movie's studio, Spyglass, over her social media posts about the Israel-Hamas war. At the time,Variety reported that insiders viewed Barrera's comments as 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," Spyglass told PEOPLE in a statement at the time.

Ortega, 21, dropped out of the film shortly after, with Deadline reporting at the time that Ortega's departure was related to her busy filming schedule with Netflix's Wednesday and the upcoming movie Beetlejuice 2.

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