Scream 7’s Original Ending Unmasked Billy’s Daughter as Ghostface

So, yes, Scream 7 is happening, Neve Campbell is back, and the whole thing apparently almost went in a very different direction. Skeet Ulrich — Billy Loomis himself — just laid out the version we didn’t get, and it’s a wild pivot from where the franchise is headed now.

Ulrich, now 55, told Entertainment Weekly that when he first returned in 2022’s Scream (the fifth movie), the idea wasn’t just a one-off cameo. The plan was to build a three-movie arc that would wrap in the seventh film with his on-screen daughter, Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), stepping into the Ghostface role. Yes, really.

'I’ve been vocal about that. 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.'

If you need a refresher: Billy died back in the 1996 original after his showdown with Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott. When directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin took over in 2022, they brought Billy back as a sort of ghostly vision guiding Sam. That was supposed to be the breadcrumb trail — Billy’s presence nudging Sam toward the mask by the end of Scream 7.

That version unraveled. Between scheduling hiccups and off-screen controversies, both of those directors exited, and stars Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega left as well. At that point, the original three-film plan was basically toast.

• The plan: a trilogy starting with 2022’s Scream, using Billy’s return to gradually steer Sam into becoming Ghostface by the end of Scream 7.
• What changed: scheduling issues and off-screen controversies led to the departures of directors Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, plus Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, taking that arc off the board.
• Where it landed: Kevin Williamson is now directing Scream 7, Neve Campbell is back, and Skeet Ulrich says he’s not involved and hasn’t been looped in. The movie is set for February 27, 2026.

It’s a pretty fascinating bit of behind-the-scenes course correction: one path had Sam becoming the franchise’s next big bad; the new path has the original face of Scream returning to steer the ship. Different vibe, same date — we’ll see what Williamson and Campbell cook up when Ghostface rings again in 2026.