With Stu’s house included in special material and set footage from the start, fans immediately began re-visiting the scene of the original film’s final adventure and speculating on how the two distinct killers could be resurrected for the newest chapter. Despite Billy and Stu’s fate, Ulrich and Lillard indicated interest in returning to the franchise, joking about how they survived their mortal wounds and encouraging fans to push for their return in advance of the first film’s 4K Ultra HD Blu-beam release for its 25th anniversary. The cast of the first film didn’t include many familiar names from previous films in the genre, though Mary Shelton repeated her role as Judy Hicks in Scream 4, and Hayden Panettiere’s Kirby Reed is highlighted in an appearance.
While Billy remained dead in Scream (2022), his resurrection was a clever method to bring back a fan favourite in a compelling role through his small girl Sam’s contention. Stu couldn’t return with him, but he and Billy are responsible for a lot of what made the first film so unique and memorable when it came out, since their plot, influenced by blood and gore films before it, allowed Scream to consider the class while establishing itself apart from other slashers. The return of Ulrich and Billy allowed the fifth instalment to play with audience expectations of their family ties yet again, reminding fans what makes the franchise so interesting.
Ulrich uploaded a few photos of his surprise comeback as the long-dead Billy Loomis from Scream 2022 on his own Instagram account. Ulrich’s first photograph features the two stars on set between recording, while his second photograph features the pair alongside producers Chad Villella and William Sherak, as well as directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. Ulrich appears as a spectre to his secret kid, Sam Carpenter (Marissa Barrera), throughout the film. Along with his images, Ulrich discussed the film industry’s accomplishment with the latest instalment.
