Skeet Ulrich reveals that Billy's "Scream" comeback was initially planned as a trilogy where his daughter becomes Ghostface

Scream fans, get ready for a shocking revelation! In an exclusive interview with Entertainment Weekly about Five Nights at Freddy's 2, Skeet Ulrich shared insights about the original vision for his iconic character, Billy Loomis, before the creative direction shifted in the seventh installment of the franchise.

Ulrich, when asked if his return as Billy Loomis in Scream 7 (hitting theaters Feb. 27) would be a spoiler, explained, "I've been vocal about that. I'm not. When we discussed coming back for the fifth film, it was planned as a three-movie arc for Billy to gradually turn his daughter into the killer. Obviously, those plans didnt happen because of certain events. But no, I know nothing about the seventh film."

Billy Loomis originally met his end in the 1996 Scream as one of the original Ghostface killers alongside Matthew Lillards Stu Macher. Yet, when directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin took charge of Scream (2022) and Scream VI (2023), Billy returned in ghost form to mentor his daughter, Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), who became the central character of these films.

The "certain events" Ulrich referenced include the well-known production upheavals: Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin leaving Scream 7 due to scheduling conflicts with another project, Barrera being removed over social media controversies regarding the Israel-Gaza conflict, and the subsequent departures of costar Jenna Ortega and director Christopher Landon. This led the seventh film to take a new direction.

Original Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson returned to direct the new installment, reuniting with Neve Campbell, who had skipped the sixth movie due to contract disputes. Scream 7 now centers on Sidney Prescotts family, including her daughter Tatum (Isabel May) and husband Mark (Joel McHale), facing a new Ghostface threat.

Although Ulrich hasnt read the latest scripts, his comments reveal what could have been. The idea of Sam becoming Ghostface was a popular fan theory, supported by Barreras own remarks. In 2023, she told Flickering Myth, "It would be my dream for Sam to be Ghostface," and to Digital Spy, "Shes the hero but shes also kind of the villain. It's this contradiction in her that I find fascinating."

Directors Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin often hinted at the darkness within Sam and how the story might have evolved. "Sidney inherits this thing from her mom, right or wrong. She is paying the price for something that's happened in the past and that for us is just always a really interesting idea," Gillett explained to Comic Book Resources in 2022. "Sam Carpenter is a proxy for that idea in many ways, especially through her connection to Billy. That was always an intriguing world for us to explore."

Author: Gavin Porter