Skeet Ulrich says Melissa Barrera’s firing ended his planned Scream arc

Skeet Ulrich has revealed that he will not complete his planned three-film story arc in the Scream franchise following Melissa Barrera’s firing, saying there is no future for his character Billy Loomis without her.

Ulrich, who played Billy Loomis in the original 1996 Scream, returned to the franchise in Scream 5 and Scream VI. Although Billy was killed in the original film, the character appeared through hallucination sequences involving his daughter, Sam Carpenter, played by Barrera.

“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.”

Barrera was fired by Scream producer Spyglass Media Group in 2023 after she posted comments about the Israel-Hamas war and expressed support for Palestine. Spyglass said at the time that it had “zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form”. Barrera denied antisemitism and continued to defend her right to speak about issues she cared about.

Her departure led to major changes to Scream 7. Jenna Ortega subsequently left the project, while director Christopher Landon also departed. The story was reworked around Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott and her daughter as they faced a new Ghostface threat.

Ulrich’s comments come shortly after fellow original Scream star Matthew Lillard spoke about his decision to return as Stu Macher for Scream 7. Lillard said he felt ashamed that he did not consider Barrera’s situation when he agreed to return and described himself as being on the “wrong side of history”.

Barrera has also addressed the possibility of returning to the franchise, saying she loves Scream and enjoyed making the films but would not work with Spyglass again. She said she could potentially consider returning if the franchise were ever moved away from the company and placed in hands she felt better honoured the legacy of director Wes Craven.

Despite the cast upheaval, Scream 7 became the highest-grossing film in the franchise. A ninth instalment, Scream 8, is now in development with writers Nora and Lilla Zuckerman.