Scream 7's Scrapped Melissa Barrera Ghostface Plans Confirmed By Skeet Ulrich

"Scream 7" is slowly dusting off its mask and voice changer to creep in the corridors and bushes once more. Just who will don the Ghostface mask this time around remains to be seen, but in a new interview with Entertainment Weekly, franchise notable Skeet Ulrich — who plays one of the original Ghostfaces, Billy Loomis, in "Scream" (1996), and reprised the role in ghostly form in "Scream" (2022) and "Scream VI" (2023) — has now confirmed that one specific Ghostface twist definitely isn't going to happen anymore. 

According to Ulrich, the franchise originally toyed with a major shocker that was going to unfold over three movies and ultimately corrupt Billy's daughter Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) into the latest Ghostface killer. However, Barrera isn't a part of "Scream 7," and Ulrich says that such plans aren't on the table anymore for his character, either: 

"I've been vocal about [returning for 'Scream 7']. I'm not. When we talked about coming back for '5,' it was a three-picture arc for Billy Loomis to slowly turn his daughter into the killer. Obviously, those things didn't pan out, given certain things that happened. But, no, I know nothing about the seventh."

The "certain things" Ulrich is talking about refer to Melissa Barrera's "Scream 7" firing due to controversy over her pro-Palestine comments, which has become one of the most famous behind-the-scenes incidents in the long-running horror series' history. Fellow franchise star Hayden Panettiere called Barrera's firing unfair and upsetting, and it wasn't the only upset in store: The movie has also lost "Scream" (2022) and "Scream VI" directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and their replacement, Christopher Langdon, with franchise vet Kevin Williamson ultimately taking the helm. Combine all that with Jenna Ortega dropping out of "Scream 7," and the movie's making process has been surrounded by plenty of tumult. 

Since Barrera's Sam Carpenter inherited the franchise final girl duties from Neve Campbell's Sidney Prescott, it's understandable that her absence from "Scream 7" required some changes. According to Ulrich, those changes may have been even bigger than expected. Scrapping a three-movie arc about a new, likeable franchise protagonist slowly being turned into a villain by the ghost of the series' very first murderer would not only have been a pretty cool arc, but also an extremely "Scream" plot twist. 

"Scream 7" slashes its way in theaters on February 27, 2026.