Scream Star Addresses the Franchise Potentially Diving Into the Supernatural

The first four entries into the Scream franchise kept the events of each narrative in the real world, but with 2022’s Scream, fans saw Melissa Barrera’s Sam Carpenter grappling with visions of her biological father Billy Loomis, a concept that started to spark speculation about whether his memory, or even his spirit, could influence her actions. While Scream VI continued to explore this concept, Billy actor Skeet Ulrich doubts that we’ll see much of a continuation of that trend, as he doesn’t think fans would enjoy the expansion of the franchise in that way. Ulrich can next be seen in the TV series Parish, which premieres on AMC and AMC+ on March 31st.

When speaking with ComicBook.com about whether the franchise could explore the supernatural even further, Ulrich confessed, “I don’t think so. I think what has made it such a success — and when I do signing conventions throughout the year, the fan base is rabid, rabid, rabid, I’ve never seen anything like it — and I think what they’re into is that it could be their neighbor. You don’t know. But I think if you take it outside of what is possible and plausible in most people’s minds, you lose a lot of that core audience, so I don’t know if that’s necessarily a direction they could get away with. They can get away with a lot, but I don’t know about that one.”

The upcoming Scream 7 won’t be starring Barrera’s Sam, so that’s one reason why the franchise has an excuse to stick more closely to reality. What’s worth noting, however, is that the first four Scream movies were directed by the late Wes Craven, who was also the mastermind of the A Nightmare on Elm Street series. While that franchise was always playing in the world of the supernatural, the seventh film in the series, Wes Craven’s New Nightmare, began to explore metatextual ideas as a way of reinvention. Those ideas might not have been continued in the franchise, but it set the stage for the ways in which the original Scream reimagined the slasher concept.

In Parish, Giancarlo Esposito stars as Gracian “Gray” Parish, a family man and proud owner of a luxury car service in New Orleans. After his son is violently murdered and his business collapses, an encounter with an old friend from his days as a wheelman resurfaces old habits, sending Gray on a high-stakes collision course with a violent criminal syndicate.

Shot on-location in New Orleans, Parish also stars Zackary Momoh (The Nevers, Harriet, Doctor Sleep) as New Orleans-based Zimbabwean gangster The Horse; SAG Award-nominee Paula Malcomson (Watchmen, The Hunger Games, Ray Donovan) as Parish’s wife and mother to his two children, Rose; Skeet Ulrich(Scream, Riverdale) as an old acquaintance to Gray, Colin; Bonnie Mbuli (Invictus, Wallander) as Shamiso Tongai, The Horse’s smart and protective older sister; Ivan Mbakop (Hawkeye, Red Notice) as The Horse’s brother, Zenzo; Arica Himmel (Mixed-ish, Black-ish) as Gray and Rose’s daughter Makayla; and Dax Rey (The Good Fight, Chicago Fire) as The Horse’s son Luke.

Emmy, SAG, and Critics Choice Award-winner Bradley Whitford (The West Wing, Get Out, The Handmaid’s Tale) recurs as Anton, the charming and intelligent face of industrial business in Louisiana who covertly heads a criminal organization. His dispute with The Horse’s human trafficking ring puts him at direct odds with Parish. SAG Award-nominee Amanda Brugel (The Handmaid’s Tale, Orphan Black) guest stars as Sister Anne, who has a mysterious past with Gray.

Stay tuned for updates on the future of the Scream franchise. Parish premieres on AMC and AMC+ on March 31st.

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