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Skeet Ulrich says Barrera's Scream exit ended planned three-film Billy Loomis arc

In an Us Weekly interview, Skeet Ulrich said the firing of Melissa Barrera from the Scream franchise meant a three-film arc for his character Billy Loomis was never completed. Spyglass dropped Barrera in November 2023 over her statements on the Israel-Hamas war.

3 outlets · 2L · 1C · 0R First reported Account updated
Image: The A.V. Club
Image: Deadline
Image: Variety

1 / 3

The story, neutrally told

Mixed · 2Skeet Ulrich said in an interview with Us Weekly that a three-film arc he was told about for his Scream character Billy Loomis was not completed after Melissa Barrera was removed from the franchise. Mixed · 2Ulrich said: "Without Melissa Barrera and Sam Loomis, there's no Billy Loomis. He was in her head." Mixed · 2Ulrich's Billy, killed in the first film, returned as a hallucination to his daughter Sam, played by Barrera, in the 2022 Scream and 2023's Scream VI.

Centre · 1Spyglass Media fired Barrera in November 2023 after she expressed support for Palestinians in the Israel-Hamas war; the company said it had "zero tolerance for antisemitism or the incitement of hate in any form". Mixed · 2Scream 7 was retooled without Barrera's and Ulrich's characters; Jenna Ortega also left the franchise after Barrera's firing, and Neve Campbell returned as Sidney for the 2026 film. Mixed · 2Matthew Lillard, who returned in Scream 7, has said he regrets it, with Deadline reporting he was "embarrassed" to have returned after Barrera's firing.

Centre · 1Barrera recently said on JustWatch she would return only if Spyglass were no longer involved, saying the company's leadership labelled her "something that I'm not" and never apologised.

Every sentence links to the reporting it rests on. The pill in front of each says where its sources sit: Left, Centre or Right when one side supplies at least half of them, Mixed when they are evenly split. The number is how many outlets it cites.

Left2 outlets

Framing
Frames the story as a casualty of Barrera's firing, noting the franchise moved on and Ulrich's Billy is effectively gone.
Emphasis
Barrera's performance in Scream VI, Ortega's departure, Lillard's regret.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not include Spyglass's stated reason or Barrera's recent comments about returning.
Charged language
“Scream firing”“effectively dead”
For example
“But that plan was killed when Spyglass Media fired Barrera from the franchise in 2023 after she made pro-Palestinian statements on social media.” — The A.V. Club

Centre1 outlet

Framing
Leads with Ulrich's quote and adds context on the firing, including Spyglass's statement and Barrera's response.
Emphasis
Spyglass's 'zero tolerance' statement, Lillard's embarrassment, Barrera's conditions for returning.
Leaves out or plays down
Does not mention Ortega's exit or Barrera's Scream VI reception.
Charged language
“fired over her pro-Palestine views”
For example
“Skeet Ulrich was supposed to have a three-film arc in the Scream franchise, but that all changed when Melissa Barrera was fired over her pro-Palestine views.” — Deadline

Right0 outlets

No right outlet in our sources has covered this story yet.