Skeet Ulrich Confirms Planned Trilogy for Billy Loomis Character Derailed by Barrera's Firing

Skeet Ulrich revealed that he had been promised a three-film arc as Billy Loomis connected to Melissa Barrera's character Sam Carpenter, but those plans were scrapped when Spyglass Media fired Barrera in 2023 following her pro-Palestinian social media posts. Ulrich emphasized that Billy's return in the recent films was predicated on Barrera's continued presence as the franchise lead, making his character incompatible with the series going forward. Matthew Lillard and others involved with Scream 7 subsequently expressed regret over the circumstances of Barrera's departure.

Skeet Ulrich's character Billy Loomis had been absent from the original Scream films for decades before being reimagined as a psychological presence within Sam Carpenter's mind in the 2022 reboot. This creative approach allowed the franchise to revisit the iconic villain through Sam's internal conflicts, establishing a narrative foundation that was meant to span multiple installments. The character's resurrection depended entirely on Sam's continued role as the franchise's central protagonist.

Barrera's departure created a structural problem for the series' planned direction. With Sam removed from the storyline, the psychological connection that justified Billy's return no longer existed, leaving the character narratively incompatible with the franchise's future. Meanwhile, the franchise proceeded with Scream 7 by bringing back legacy character Sidney Prescott and actor Matthew Lillard as Stu, moves that Lillard later acknowledged carried complicated feelings given the circumstances surrounding Barrera's exit.