Scream: The Story Behind The Major Spoiler Skeet Ulrich Dropped Before The Movie's Release, And How He Avoided Disaster
Wes Craven's Scream is known as one of the best horror movies of all time, being responsible for bringing new life into slashers. The movie's ending is a big reason why it was such a success, as fans didn't expect there to be two Ghostface killers. The murdering duo was Matthew Lillard's Stu and Skeet Ulrich's Billy Loomis. And the 54 year-old actor recently shared how he accidentally dropped a major spoiler ahead of its release, and how he avoided disaster.
Scream was made by the late horror icon Wes Craven, who was given credit for helping to revitalize the genre. Long before spoilers became a concept, the studio tried to keep Scream's secrets, including using fake scripts. Skeet Ulrich recently appeared on the podcast Inside of You with Michael Rosenbaum, where he shared a story of accidentally letting slip that he was Ghostface ahead of Scream's release. As he put it:
For whatever reason, I got the full script, and I remember getting the part, and I had to do press for another movie I’d done, and I was doing an interview with Interview Magazine. They were asking me what was coming up, and I was like, ‘Oh man, I’m going to play this serial killer in this movie’… [reacts to Michael Rosenbaum’s shocked expression] Yeah, exactly!
Whoops. Talk about a mistake. If it were the wrong interview or during the days of the internet, this slip could have killed Scream (which can be streamed with a Max subscription) before it arrived in theaters. Luckily he managed to narrowly avoid disaster, and the Ghostface reveal was wildly impactful in theaters.
In the end, his performance as Billy Loomis would go down as one of Skeet Ulrich's best performances. What's more, he even retuned to play a Ghost/vision of Billy in the last two Scream movies. So how exactly did he mange to get out of trouble with the studio after that spoiler-ey interview?
Later in that same podcast appearance, Skeet Ulrich told host Michael Rosnebaum how he leapt into action after realizing how he'd accidentally spoiled Scream's ending. Their exchange reads:
Skeet Ulrich: And then I hung up the phone call and I was like [gasps in surprise]. I called my publicist right away and was like…
Michael Rosenbaum: You can’t air that. And they didn’t, right?
Ulrich: Yeah, and they were able to stop it.
And just like that, Scream was saved. Over the years the best Scream movies continue to have thrilling twist endings, especially where Ghostface is concerned. Hopefully any actors in upcoming horror movies think twice before revealing their identity as the killer during press tours.
That beloved franchise continues to have life today, and there's another chapter in development at the time of writing this story. What we know about Scream 7 is limited, but Neve Campbell is back as Sidney Prescott. But with Melissa Barrera's departure as Sam Carpenter, it seems unlikely that Skeet Ulrich will once again play Billy. We'll just have to wait and see.
Scream 7 doesn't currently have a released date. For now, check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next trip to the movies.
