Skeet Ulrich’s Scream Arc Was Cut Short After Melissa Barrera’s Departure

Skeet Ulrich was reportedly set to have a larger three-film arc in the Scream franchise, but those plans collapsed after Melissa Barrera was dropped from Scream 7. Ulrich, who played original Ghostface Billy Loomis, returned in the fifth and sixth films as a hallucination seen by his daughter, Sam Loomis, played by Barrera. After Barrera’s exit from the franchise following controversy over her pro-Palestine posts, Scream 7 was reworked, with both Sam and Ulrich’s Billy ultimately written out.

Skeet Ulrich Addresses His Scream Future

Scream 7 was reconfigured after Spyglass fired Melissa Barrera in November 2023 after she expressed support for Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war. The production company behind the film declared that they had “zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form” and dropped her.

“Without Melissa Barrera and Sam Loomis, there’s no Billy Loomis,” Ulrich told Us Weekly. “He was in her head. They had their chance at it and didn’t quite get to complete the three-film arc that they talked to me about.”

Fellow Ghostface alum Matthew Lillard recently confessed that he regretted signing on to reprise his role of Stu Macher in Scream 7. “It’s really f---ing bulls--- and really hard and she’s on the right side of history,” he said of Barrera. “I went back to do Scream, and I got called out. And I’m like, ‘Oh, f---. That’s brutal. I feel bad about that. I feel ashamed about that. Because in that moment I was so excited to go back, I didn’t really think about Melissa and that journey. I didn’t say no.”

He continued, “I’m embarrassed, that’s the truth… I blew that. I’m on the wrong side of history for that. I still like being in the movie [but] it may not have been the best idea.”

Barrera also recently shared that she would be open to returning to the franchise. However, she also maintained that she would return only if Spyglass was not involved.

Melissa Barrera Is Open To Returning To Scream Franchise

“Not with the company that currently holds the rights,” she said on JustWatch. “I love the franchise. I had an amazing time making those movies. But a lot of the hate and the difficulty that I’ve faced in the last years is because the leadership of that company made it a point to label me something that I’m not, and they never apologized, even when I was proven right.”

Barrera added, “Even with an apology, I wouldn’t go back to work with them. So, not that I’m holding my breath. I don’t think they have that ability. But if the franchise were ever to leave those hands and go into hands that I think honor Wes Craven’s legacy more, I think yeah.”

Scream 7 emerged the highest-grossing film of the series, and Scream 8 is now officially in development.