AfterWes CravenunleashedScreamonto audiences in 1996, the idea of going into franchise territory was a stretch for many. With an incredibly stacked cast that includedNeve Campbell,Matthew Lillard,Skeet Ulrich,Rose McGowan,Drew Barrymore,Courteney Cox, and more, how could any other film even dream of following it? Just one year later, Craven, writerKevin Williamson, and the rest of the creative team behindScream 2answered those questions. Not only did the sequel include more of the hottest stars of the decade, likeLaurie Metcalf,Sarah Michelle Gellar,Jerry O’Connell,Timothy Olyphant, andJada Pinkett Smith, but it also gave audiencesone of the biggest surprise Ghostface unmaskings of the film series.
Thelore behindScream 2’s productionis almost as iconic as the movie itself and, although rumors were circulating that pinnedDavid Arquette’s Deweyas the killer, the final moments revealed the truth — that Olyphant’s Mickey Altieri and Metcalf’s Debbie Salt aka Nancy Loomis were two Ghostfaces in cahoots. Throughout the film, Metcalf appears as news anchor, Debbie Salt, only to pull a bait-and-switch that shocked audiences around the world when she shed her fake persona and stepped forward as Nancy Loomis — the grieving mother of Ulrich’s Billy Loomis who was killed in the first movie. Years later, inScream(2022), it’s unveiled that Billy had a daughter with another student from his high school, which is whereMelissa Barrera’s journey with the franchiseas Sam Carpenter began.
During a panel at theCalgary Expowith Collider’sPerri Nemiroff, Metcalf was asked what she thought Nancy’s reaction to having a granddaughter would have been. Keeping it to the point, theRoseanneactress said, “I can’t even — I have no idea.I think it was in everyone’s best interest that Nancy had to end.”
The ‘Scream’ Family That Could Have Been
Anyone who’s seen the last twoScreamfilms, helmed byTyler GillettandMatt Bettinelli-Olpin, will know the journey of Barrera’s Sam has been the beating heart of the story. The young woman struggled during both the fifth and sixth installments with her parentage, wondering if she would eventually don the Ghostface mask because of who her father and grandmother were. AlthoughBarrera teased that she would like to see more of Sam’s dark side inScream 7,we’ll never know what could have been, as the actress wasfired from the productionat the end of last year aftersharing posts about the conflict in Palestine on her social media accounts. For now, the Loomis family tree looks like it won’t be bearing any more fruit, but perhaps, as Metcalf said, it’s in the best interest of everyone that it stays that way.
Stay tuned to Collider for more from the Calgary Expo and relive Metcalf’s iconic performance inScream 2with the movie now streaming on Max.Scream 5is also available on Paramount+.
Two years after the first series of murders, as Sidney acclimates to college life, someone donning the Ghostface costume begins a new string of killings.
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