Skeet Ulrich On Melissa Barrera's 'Scream' Exit: "Without Sam, There's No Billy"

The creative trajectory of the Scream franchise suffered a permanent fracture following the controversial firing of lead actress Melissa Barrera, according to franchise veteran Skeet Ulrich.

In a recent interview to US Weekly, the actor detailed how Barrera's abrupt dismissal by production company Spyglass Media Group disrupted his previously planned character storyline and sparked acute industry introspection over the franchise's direction.

Ulrich, who originated the role of Billy Loomis in the 1996 classic before reprising the character as a psychological hallucination guiding his on-screen daughter, Sam Loomis (played by Barrera) in the fifth and sixth installments, revealed that an intended multi-film narrative was scrapped.

"Without Melissa Barrera and Sam Loomis, there's no Billy Loomis," Ulrich told Us Weekly. Noting that his character existed solely within Sam's consciousness, He also stated that producers failed to realize the planned "three-film arc" mapped out for the father-daughter dynamic. Following Barrera's removal, neither actor appeared in Scream 7.

Why Melissa Barrera was fired from Scream

The decision by Spyglass Media Group to drop Barrera in late 2023—prompted by social media posts regarding the Israel-Hamas conflict—has continued to reverberate among the cast. Matthew Lillard, who returned to the franchise to reprise his original role as Stu Macher in Scream 7, expressed public regret over his participation.

"I went back to do Scream, and I got called out," Lillard said, describing his involvement as a misstep, as he viewed himself on the "wrong side of history".

At the time of Barrera's termination, Spyglass issued a statement asserting a "zero tolerance" policy toward antisemitism and the incitement of hate. Barrera subsequently condemned antisemitism while defending her right to advocate for humanitarian causes.