How 'Scream 2's Nancy Loomis Would've Reacted to That 'Scream 5' Twist

The Big Picture

• Scream 2 followed up the iconic first film with a stacked cast and a twisty plot that kept audiences on edge.
• The film's shocking reveal of Laurie Metcalf's Nancy Loomis left fans stunned and craving more from the franchise.
• Although the Loomis family tree may not bear more fruit, the journey of Sam Carpenter remains a highlight of the series.

After Wes Craven unleashed Scream onto audiences in 1996, the idea of going into franchise territory was a stretch for many. With an incredibly stacked cast that included Neve 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, writer Kevin Williamson, and the rest of the creative team behind Scream 2 answered those questions. Not only did the sequel include more of the hottest stars of the decade, like Laurie Metcalf, Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jerry O’Connell, Timothy Olyphant, and Jada Pinkett Smith, but it also gave audiences one of the biggest surprise Ghostface unmaskings of the film series.

The lore behind Scream 2’s production is almost as iconic as the movie itself and, although rumors were circulating that pinned David Arquette’s Dewey as 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, in Scream (2022), it’s unveiled that Billy had a daughter with another student from his high school, which is where Melissa Barrera’s journey with the franchise as Sam Carpenter began.

During a panel at the Calgary Expo with Collider’s Perri Nemiroff, Metcalf was asked what she thought Nancy’s reaction to having a granddaughter would have been. Keeping it to the point, the Roseanne actress 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 two Scream films, helmed by Tyler Gillett and Matt 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. Although Barrera teased that she would like to see more of Sam’s dark side in Scream 7, we’ll never know what could have been, as the actress was fired from the production at the end of last year after sharing 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 in Scream 2 with the movie now streaming on Max. Scream 5 is also available on Paramount+.

Scream 2

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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