Is Melissa Barrera's Career OK?

I don’t have a great sense of where Melissa Barrera sits on the Hollywood totem pole, but I’d guesstimate that she’s right below the Young Actor A-list: Timothée Chalamet, Zendaya, Glen Powell, and Jenna Ortega. Based on the fact that she helped resurrect the Scream franchise, starred in a Lin-Manuel Miranda film (In the Heights), did an indie musical opposite Paul Mescal, and solidified her scream-queen cred with Abigail, I’d put her in the same category as Rachel Zegler, Ella Purnell, Monica Barbaro, and Justice Smith: not exactly household names, but very in demand.

It does feel, however, like the comments about Israel/Gaza that unfairly got her fired from the next Scream film may have hurt her career. Her next project is a generic-looking thriller TV series for Peacock opposite Simu Liu called The Copenhagen Test. That could go either way, although being Peacock, I’d lean against it.

What’s more concerning is the project announced today. It’s a movie filming in Spain called Black Tides, about a father trying to reconnect with his daughter (played by Barrera) after her sailboat is attacked by rogue orcas.

Sounds ridiculous, right? Well, that’s only the beginning. It’s directed by Renny Harlin, who I’m pretty sure hasn’t had a legitimate hit since 1999’s so-bad-it’s-fun Deep Blue Sea. His filmography since then is littered with junk, including the three The Strangers reboots starring Riverdale’s Madelaine Petsch, which have mostly flown under the radar.

The other concern? Barrera will be starring opposite John Travolta. You may not know this, but John Travolta still acts, almost exclusively in the direct-to-video market. He hasn’t made a dent at the box office since 2009’s Old Dogs and The Taking of Pelham 123. And not only does Black Tides star Travolta, but it also features his daughter, Bleu, whose only credits include Old Dogs and, ten years later, another Travolta film, The Poison Rose. So, it’s a nepo project, too.

What’s happening? Melissa Barrera should be in the forthcoming Scream VII. She should be in high-profile ensembles (like Sorkin’s The Social Network sequel or Luca Guadagnino’s Sam Altman film Artificial). She should not be making a movie about rogue orcas directed by Renny Harlin and starring John Travolta.