Highlights
- Billy Loomis's return in Scream 2022 and Scream 6 adds nothing substantial to the story or character development. He should be dropped from Scream 7.
- Skeet Ulrich's desire to return to the horror franchise and Billy Loomis role is driven by appreciation for the legacy of the popular slasher movies.
- Scream 7 should focus on fresh characters and move forward, leaving behind legacy characters like Billy Loomis to explore new avenues in the slasher genre.
Of all the Ghostface killers in Scream, there's no one like Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) and Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich). The first characters to wear the black and white costume and quiz a character about their favorite scary movies are equally terrifying and hilarious. However, when Billy Loomis came back to the Scream franchise in the fifth and sixth movies, he stood out instead of blending seamlessly into the rest of the story.
Since horror fans are still waiting to hear more details about Scream 7, including who the new director will be and how the Scream franchise can move forward after so many changes, it's possible that Skeet Ulrich could return as Billy Loomis. But there are many reasons why that wouldn't be a good idea.
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If Neve Campbell played Sidney Prescott in Scream 7, here's whether fans would like to see her reprise her iconic horror role.
Scream 7 Can Drop Billy Loomis's Ghost
The ghost of Billy Loomis appeared in Scream (2022) and Scream 6 in several scenes with Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera). Billy shouldn't be included in Scream 7 for two reasons. For one thing, Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera left the franchise, and so featuring Billy wouldn't make sense anymore. For another thing, Billy's Scream return doesn't add anything to the story.
Billy has a strong and well-developed character arc as Sidney's boyfriend and one of the first two Ghostface killers. It's intriguing to realize that he was lying to Sidney the entire time and that he wanted revenge because her mother Maureen Prescott had an affair with his father. However, since Sidney discovers Billy's scheme and he dies in the first Scream movie, there was no logical reason to bring him back.
While some horror franchise should be left alone, Scream 7 is a reboot that should happen, and the new movie should focus on fresh characters, not the past. Although it makes sense to include legacy characters like Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), the franchise should look forward, not backward. So much story can be told about the contemporary slasher genre, and Billy doesn't have a place in the franchise anymore.
What Are Skeet Ulrich's Horror Movie Roles?
- Billy Loomis in Scream (1996)
- Chris Hooker in The Craft (1993)
- Brice in Escape Room (2018)
- Billy Loomis in Scream (2022)
- Billy Loomis in Scream 6 (2023)
- Patrick in Blood (2023)
Even though Scream (2022) and Scream 6 would still have been solid movies without Billy Loomis, it makes sense that Skeet Ulrich wanted to return to the horror franchise. As he explained in a 2021 interview with Forbes, he appreciates the legacy of these popular slasher movies. He said:
"It wasn’t necessarily something that was really in mind until we started doing the conventions and saw it first hand. It is generation after generation. It’s flattering, and I feel honored to have been a part of it and to get to sit here today and continue to talk about it. It’s unexpected, and it’s incredibly rare."
Why Did Billy Loomis Return In Scream?
Billy Loomis returned in Scream (2022) and Scream 6 because he is Sam Carpenter's father and she is working through the trauma that she feels about her family. Although Scream (2022) and Scream 6 feature new Ghostface killers, they also focus on the sibling tension between Sam and Tara as they work through their new relationship after not talking for several years. Sam is humiliated by the fact that she is related to a serial killer and wonders how to move forward.
When Sam hallucinates Billy in Scream (2022), he tells her that she can't hide from her true self. This scene hinted at Sam being a potential Ghostface. However, he was just a red herring since her boyfriend Richie Kirsch (Jack Quaid) ended up being one of the Ghostface killers along with Amber Freeman (Mikey Madison). But since Tara almost dies in the opening scene, it's hard to believe that Sam would attack her own sister, and Sam never feels like a real threat.
Billy also appears in Scream 6 when Sam and the other characters are at the old movie theater where they plan to battle Ghostface. This hallucination of Billy is even more awkward since she already worked through her feelings about her father in the previous movie. In one scene, Sam brings up Billy to Detective Bailey (Dermot Mulroney) and says:
"My father was a murderer, and I'm better than that."
This is an important quote because although Sam doesn't want to follow in her father's violent footsteps, she knows that she has to fight back and help save her family and friends.
Now that Sam's planned three-movie Scream arc isn't happening and she won't be in Scream 7, it doesn't make sense for Billy Loomis to be featured, either.
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Whether or not Sidney Prescott returns to Scream 7, the slasher franchise could find a new main character in Hayden Panettiere's Kirby Reed.
