The Scream franchise is remarkable in its own way. It has spent 30 years proving that almost anybody can return. Characters survive impossible injuries. Killers come back for another round. And even the dead can appear inside somebody’s head when the story needs them. But Skeet Ulrich has found one thing Billy Loomis cannot come back from. And that is the franchise continuing without Melissa Barrera.
For those who are not Scream fans, Ulrich played Billy, one of the original Ghostface killers, in the first Scream film. The character died in 1996, although death has never been a serious obstacle in this franchise. Because they always come back. And so did Billy. He later returned through hallucinations experienced by his daughter, Sam Carpenter, played by Barrera in 2022’s Scream and Scream VI.
Ulrich revealed that the filmmakers had planned a three-film story involving Billy and Sam. But following Barrera’s removal from the franchise in 2023, he no longer sees a reason to return. “Without Melissa Barrera and Sam Loomis, there’s no Billy Loomis,” he told Us Weekly. Ulrich added that the filmmakers had discussed a three-film arc with him, but never had the opportunity to complete it.
Now I know Billy Loomis was a murderer who caused an unreasonable amount of trouble in Woodsboro. So describing his relationship with his daughter as touching may be pushing things a little. But his appearances inside Sam’s mind gave the newer films an interesting connection to the original story.
Sam did not simply have to escape Ghostface. She had to live with the knowledge that her father was one of the people who created the identity in the first place. For her, Billy appeared as both a warning and a temptation. He represented the violent part of herself that Sam feared, but occasionally needed when somebody wearing a mask made the poor decision to chase her.
Removing Sam therefore leaves Billy with very little to do. He cannot simply appear inside another character’s head and begin offering deeply questionable fatherly advice. And even if he did, that would raise more questions than this franchise normally asks us to accept. Barrera was removed from Scream 7 following her social media posts about Gaza, which included calls for a ceasefire. Spyglass, the company behind the film, said at the time that it did not tolerate antisemitism or hate speech. Her departure led to a major change behind the scenes. Jenna Ortega also said her goodbyes to the project, and so did director Christopher Landon. So the story was reworked around Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott and her daughter.
Ulrich’s decision does not feel like an actor simply turning down another horror sequel. His character’s return was directly connected to Barrera’s story. Bringing Billy back without Sam would be like inviting someone to a family reunion after removing the only family member he came to see. But there is also a bigger conversation happening among the original Scream cast.
Matthew Lillard, who played Billy’s fellow Ghostface killer Stu Macher, recently admitted that he regretted not thinking more carefully about Barrera before agreeing to return to the franchise. Lillard said his excitement about coming back prevented him from properly considering what had happened to her. And while he still appreciates being involved, he now believes he made the wrong decision. And who can blame him?
As far as I am aware, actors normally celebrate returning to famous franchises, especially when fans have spent years asking for it. So this behaviour in Hollywood is rather unusual. There are interviews, convention appearances and several carefully worded comments about how wonderful it felt to come home. When have you seen somebody stopping in the middle of all that excitement to say, ‘Actually, perhaps I should have asked a few more questions’?
And it is here that Scream finds itself in a rather uncomfortable position.
The franchise has always presented itself as the clever horror series. It understands the rules, mocks Hollywood’s habits and points out when studios use nostalgia to keep profitable stories alive. Yet it is now dealing with the sort of behind-the-scenes controversy that the films themselves would probably comment on.
And yes, Scream can absolutely continue without Billy Loomis. I mean, the character has been dead for three decades. It can also most certainly continue without Sam Carpenter. Because franchises replace leads when required, change direction and introduce new killers all the time. Look, all Ghostface needs is a mask, a knife and a lot of free time.
But Ulrich’s comments remind us that removing one character can disturb much more than a single storyline. Sam connected the newer films to Billy, Tara and a younger group of survivors. Once she disappeared, the planned arc surrounding all of them disappeared as well. I’m sure that the franchise will find another way forward. Scream has survived changing directors, different casts and enough Ghostface killers to make Woodsboro’s costume shop look extremely suspicious. But some doors cannot be reopened by writing another surprise relative into the story.
Billy Loomis may have returned from the dead, but without Melissa Barrera, Skeet Ulrich believes he has nowhere left to go.
