Sam Carpenter was originally going to become Ghostface before Melissa Barrera was fired
Skeet Ulrich, who played half of the original Ghostface duo with Matthew Lillard’s Stu Macher in the first Shout film, returned for the 2022 revival as a sort of twisted spiritual guide for Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), who was revealed to be the daughter of his character Billy Loomis.
During Scream 5 and its follow-up in 2023, Sam began to give in to the murderous urges she had inherited from her father. Carpenter was able to direct his bloodlust against bad guys in order to keep his sister (Jenna Ortega) and friends safe, but the final moments of the most recent film suggest that his darker side may ultimately take over.
By speaking to THISUlrich confirmed that the original plan was indeed for Sam Carpenter to follow in his father’s bloody footsteps and don a Ghostface costume.
“I talked about it. It’s not the case,” the actor said when asked if fans can expect to see him in next year’s film. Scream 7. “When we talked about coming back for 5, it was a three-picture arc for Billy Loomis to slowly turn his daughter into a killer. Obviously those things didn’t work, given some things that happened. But no, I don’t know anything about the seventh.”
Ulrich elaborated in a separate interview with the NY Post.
Skeet Ulrich confirms with @nypost that he will NOT reprise his role as Billy Loomis in #CRI7 stating:
“I’m not involved. I’m really excited though. I’m excited for Kevin Williamson to take the helm and see what the mastermind of this whole thing comes up with. I have no idea. I… pic.twitter.com/IcafNqBX4h
— 𝙎𝘾𝙍𝙀𝘼𝙈 🔪 𝙊𝘽𝙎𝙀𝙎𝙎𝙀𝘿 (@Scream_Obsessed) December 8, 2025
Those “certain things” Ulrich mentioned obviously included Barrera’s firing for social media posts related to the Israel-Gaza conflict, and Ortega and director Christopher Landon parting ways with the project shortly afterward.
“I guess this is the perfect time to announce that I officially left Scream 7 weeks ago,” Landon wrote on social media at the time. “This will disappoint some and delight others. It was a dream job turned nightmare. And my heart breaks for everyone involved. Everyone. But it’s time to move on.”
Landon has previously spoken out about Barrera’s firing (many fans have concluded he had something to do with it), but more recently spoke about his decision to step down.
It was generally believed that Landon left the project due to the departure of its two main stars, and the Happy death day The director confirmed that Barrera’s firing was directly responsible for his decision to hand the film to someone else.
“I made the decision to leave about a week after they fired her,” Landon says in a new book called Your favorite horror movie by Ashley Cullins. “There was no more movie. The whole script was about her. I didn’t sign on to do ‘a Scream movie’. I signed on to do this movie. When that movie didn’t exist anymore, I moved on.”
Kevin Williamson, who wrote the screenplay for Wes Craven’s original, was later announced as Landon’s replacement.
You can check out the recent trailer for Scream 7 below.
