Scream 6‘s Sam Carpenter is the daughter of Billy Loomis, but Sam and her sister Tara’s mother may have also appeared in the original Scream film. In the first Scream, Neve Campbell starred as Sidney Prescott, a high school student coping with the death of her mother and being taunted by a Ghostface killer. At the end of the film, Sidney learns that her boyfriend, Billy Loomis, alongside his friend Stu Macher, were the killers the whole time, and they were after Sidney because her mother had an affair with Billy’s dad. The affair tore Billy’s family apart, so he killed Sidney’s mother and went after her next.
Scream 5 introduces Sam as Ghostface’s new victim and reveals original Scream character Billy was her father. At some point in high school, her mother hooked up with Billy, resulting in Sam’s birth. It remains unclear whether Billy was with Sidney at the time, or if they got together afterward. Throughout Scream 5 and Scream 6, Sam grapples with her identity, wondering if she too has a dark side and is capable of murder. However, neither film features Sam’s mother, Christina Carpenter, who would have been present at Woodsboro High School when the first Scream took place.
Christina Carpenter Wasn’t In The Original Scream Movie
The Character Was Created For Scream 5
Even though Sam was conceived sometime around the events of Scream, Christina was not in the film. The first Scream focused on Sidney and her friends, who were slowly being killed off by Ghostface. There was no mention of Christina, nor that Billy had conceived a child with another woman. In fact, the Scream franchise suggests that Billy never even knew about Sam. The storyline was created for Scream 5 to tie into the first film and give Sam a subplot outside of the whodunnit model Scream typically follows.
Previous Scream writers had no plans of giving Billy a secret child that would one day become a target of Ghostface, meaning there was no way for them to include Christina in the original film. However, Scream 3 revealed that the film’s Ghostface, Roman Bridger, had orchestrated all the past Ghostface Scream killings, even though he never appeared in Scream 1 or Scream 2. Despite Christina’s absence, future Scream movies could definitely work her into the original movie’s plot.
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Will Scream 7 keep the franchise alive?
Neve Campbell recently confirmed that Scream 7 will begin filming in December 2024, creating some anticipation for the franchise’s return. That being said, there are concerns of whether the franchise will continue beyond the next movie as some continue to call for a boycott over Melissa Barrera’s firing and Jenna Ortega’s exit. Though the fanbase remains passionate in their support of the two stars, the return of Campbell after a similarly controversial exit does point toward it continuing Scream’s recent success streak and leaving the door open for more.
Sam’s ID Confirms Christina & Billy Got Together Before The First Scream Movie
Scream 6 Shows Her ID On Screen
It is better for
Scream
that Sam was conceived before the events of the original film…
In Scream 6, Sam’s driver’s license is planted at the scene of one of the Ghostface killings to frame her for the victim’s murder. Sam’s ID reveals that she was born in May 1997. This means she was conceived around August 1996, which was slightly before the events in Scream took place.
Billy was not Ghostface at this time, and may not have even had the plan to get revenge on Sidney yet. It is better for Scream that Sam was conceived before the events of the original film, because if she was conceived during the time Billy was the Scream Ghostface killer, it could have led to plot holes.
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Will Sam & Tara’s Mom Finally Appear In Scream 7?
An Appearance Seems Unlikely
Christina could make the next film very interesting.
In Scream 6, Sam and Tara mention that they are not in communication with their mother. However, as long as she is still alive, the door is open for Christina Carpenter to make a Scream 7 appearance. If the three reconcile, Christina could make the next film very interesting. She might know more about Billy than Sidney ever did, and she could play a huge role in a future storyline, even if her daughters don’t appear.
Both Jenna Ortega and Melissa Barrera are no longer slated to appear in Scream 7. Christina, however, could still potentially appear in the franchise. She could be the missing key to understanding if Sam really is good or evil. She would also be an amazing Ghostface, and could have a reveal similar to Scream 3‘s Roman, where she was the mastermind behind the other killings.
Unfortunately, Christina Carpenter was not in the first Scream movie, although it would have been interesting if Scream 6 had connected the new storyline to some hidden role for Christina in the first film. The original Scream writers had no idea what the new writers were going to come up with, so they could not have planned to have Christina in the 1996 film. Of course, since most characters were murdered, Sam needed to have been born before the Scream events to avoid narrative complications.
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Could Scream 7 Feature Any Other Familial Connections?
Familial Connections Could Come Through Sidney Or The Meeks Family
At this point in the franchise, it seems unlikely there would be too many familial connections for the movie to explore outside of Sam and Tara’s mother since the movies have so thoroughly explored Sydney’s family. The writers could still surprise the audience though.
Including a familial connection to Sydney would make the most sense. Neve Campbell is the only cast member officially confirmed to appear in the seventh movie so far, though there are a handful of other actors suspected of appearing, like Courtney Cox, who is one of the only legacy actors left in the franchise. With the movies already exploring Sydney’s mother’s past and a long-lost sibling though, as well as positioning her cousin as the lead in another movie, it seems unlikely that there would be yet another familial connection to her in Scream 7.
Whether or not Mason Gooding or Jasmine Savoy Brown will appear in the movie is still up in the air. That doesn’t, however, mean that the Meeks family won’t appear. Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) only lived until the second movie, but his little sister (Heather Matarazzo) is the mother of the siblings who are close to Tara and Sam. It’s entirely possible that if they appear, their mother, their father, or someone else connected to the Meeks family could still pop up. That would still provide a familial connection to the legacy characters of the Scream franchise.
That being said, even Sam and Tara’s mother could make an appearance without either of them appearing in the movie. Casting a new character who still has a connection to the original story wouldn’t be out of the realm of possibilities for Scream 7. Christina Carpenter and Sydney Prescott could even finally cross paths.
Scream
Created by Kevin Williamson and originally helmed by Wes Craven, the Scream franchise takes a meta approach to the slasher horror franchise, centering on teenagers well-versed in the genre who find themselves hunted and killed by figures donning the Ghostface mask. The first four movies revolved around Neve Campbell’s Sydney Prescott as she frequently found herself the target of different Ghostface killers, while the fifth and sixth installments introduced new protagonists, sisters Tara and Sam, with their own dark past connected to the original Ghostface killer.
- Cast
- Neve Campbell , David Arquette , Courteney Cox , Skeet Ulrich , Jamie Kennedy , Liev Schreiber , Heather Matarazzo , Hayden Panettiere , Marley Shelton , Melissa Barrera , Jenna Ortega , Jack Quaid , Mason Gooding , Jasmin Savoy Brown , Roger Jackson