Skeet Ulrich Reveals "Highlight" of His 'Scream' Return Actorsvaultpro

Skeet Ulrich rocketed to horror fame after his debut as the charming yet chilling masked killer Billy Loomis in Scream in 1996 — and even his character’s death couldn’t keep him away! More than 25 years later, he made a surprise return to the franchise when he appeared in Billy’s daughter Sam Carpenter’s (Melissa Barrera) twisted hallucinations. On Saturday, Sept. 27, while speaking at a Scream panel at Los Angeles Comic Con, Ulrich revealed that the “highlight” of his comeback to the slasher franchise was getting to work with Barrera for their unsettling scenes.

“Melissa Barrera is one of the dearest people on the planet, so getting to work with her was extraordinary.”

Despite the popularity of his classic ’90s role, the Jericho actor also shared that it took him “a while” to agree to take the job, because he didn’t know if it was possible for him to look young enough to pull off the character now that he’s in his mid-50s. Thankfully, he agreed to give it a try and production was able to use de-aging special effects to help him seamlessly slip back into the iconic role.

“It was interesting to find his voice again,” he told the crowd of fans at the event, which MovieWeb attended. “It was a lot of fun. It was different than it was 29 years ago, 30 years ago, but it was every bit as interesting.”

However, it’s unclear if fans will ever see Ulrich as Billy on the big screen again due to a casting shakeup. Neither Barrera nor Jenna Ortega — who played Sam’s younger sister, Tara Carpenter — will be in Scream 7, meaning the hallucination storyline is out. While it’s not impossible for him to return in a flashback or a dream sequence, there hasn’t been any confirmation of future plans to include him in the franchise.

Skeet Ulrich Insists Billy Loomis Is No Cheater After ‘Scream’ Twist

Skeet Ulrich as Billy Loomis in ‘Scream.’

Dimension Films

Scream (2022) dropped the bomb that Billy Loomis secretly fathered a child with a woman named Christina Carpenter shortly before his death, sparking a flurry of speculation that he must have cheated on his longtime high school girlfriend Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell). While Ulrich has no problem admitting that his character is a ruthless killer, he shut down the rumors that Billy was an unfaithful boyfriend during a sit-down at GalaxyCon San Jose earlier this year.

“No, we were on a break,” he said at the time, according to PopVerse. “Sidney knew. We talked about it.”

Along with Ulrich, Campbell also made her grand return to the hit horror flick franchise in Scream (2022). While she did not reprise her role in Scream 6 due to a pay dispute, she confirmed via social media that she’s officially coming back for Scream 7.

“It’s always been such a blast and an honor to get to play Sidney in the Scream movies,” she wrote to her Instagram in March 2024. “My appreciation for these films and for what they have meant to me has never waned.”

“While I’ve been so incredibly lucky to make these films with both the master of horror Wes Craven and the wonderfully talented Matt [Bettinelli-Olpin] and Tyler [Gillett] team, I’ve dreamt for many years of how amazing it would be to make one of these movies with Kevin Williamson at the helm. And now it’s happening, Kevin Williamson is going to direct Scream 7! This was his baby and it’s his brilliant mind that dreamt up this world. Kevin is not just an inspiration as an artist but has been a dear friend for many years. To the amazing Scream fans, I hope you are as excited as I am. See you on set @kevwilliamson.”

Scream 7 will hit theaters on February 27, 2026.