At the time of its release, a unique aspect of the original Scream was its utilization of not one but two masked killers. With the reveal that both Billy Loomis (played by Riverdale's Skeet Ulrich) and Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) had been behind the iconic Ghostface mask at different points in the film, events begin to make a lot more sense.
That revelation explained how the killer was able to move around so quickly and how he was seemingly able to appear in multiple places at once. Furthermore, seeing as everyone was operating under the assumption that there was only one killer, Billy and Stu were able to give each other solid alibis. But even with the knowledge that Billy and Stu committed the Woodsboro murders, there are still two Ghostface appearances that don't quite add up, leading fans to wonder if a certain third party was secretly in play the whole time.
Scream Had Only Two Killers, Right?
About halfway through Scream, there is a scene in which Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan) meets series protagonist Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) before the two head into town to get snacks for Stu's party. As they leave, Ghostface stalks them from the foliage near Sidney's house. However, in the very next scene, both Billy and Stu are at the video store with Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy), raising the question of how they got there so fast, assuming one of them was, in fact, behind the mask just a few moments earlier.
While it's not explicitly stated how long after the stalking sequence the video store scene takes place, the smash cut suggests they take place in immediate succession. Shortly after the video store scene, there is another sequence in which Ghostface can be seen stalking Sidney and Tatum in the grocery store itself, implying that either Billy or Stu sprinted over there, changed into the costume, watched them buy food for no particular reason, and then left -- all while going unnoticed. It all seems a bit far-fetched, even for a film that occasionally demands suspension of disbelief.
Scream 3 Rewrote Franchise History
In the climax of the original Scream, it is revealed that Billy and Stu not only committed the Ghostface killings but had also murdered Sidney's mother, Maureen Prescott (Lynn McRee), a year prior, framing Cotton Weary (Liev Schreiber) for the crime. While Stu was mostly just along for the ride, Billy's motivations were far more personal. The reason Billy's mom walked out on him and left Woodsboro was that she had caught Billy's father having an affair with Maureen, setting Billy on a quest for revenge against the entire Prescott family.
However, Scream 3 recontextualized this. The threequel featured a lone killer: Hollywood director Roman Bridger (Scott Foley), Sidney's long-lost half-brother. As it turns out, years before Sidney was born, Maureen spent two years living in Los Angeles, attempting to make it as an actress under the name Rina Reynolds. Maureen was raped at the home of horror producer John Milton (Lance Henriksen), implicitly leading to Roman's birth.
As an adult, Roman tracked his mother down, only for her to reject him, claiming Sidney as her only child. Roman swore revenge on Maureen for abandoning him, as well as on Sidney for having the happy family life he believed should have been his. But rather than get his own hands dirty, Roman opted to direct a real-life slasher film. He was the one who tipped Billy off on his father's affair with Maureen, giving him some tips on getting away with murder before sending him on his way. Sidney, of course, survived Billy and Stu's rampage, as well as the subsequent copycat killings in Scream 2, leading Roman to finally take a more hands-on approach in Scream 3.
Was Roman Bridger Secretly in the First Scream?
Could the person stalking Sidney while Billy and Stu were at the video store have actually been Roman? The Scream franchise is no stranger to "third killer" theories, though this one actually does carry some weight when considering all the evidence. After all, given what audiences learned in Scream 3, it only stands to reason that the "director" would want to keep an eye on the production of his "movie." With Billy and Stu busy harassing Randy at the video store, Roman would have some room to operate. The grocery store cooler Ghostface is reflected in is even filled with boxes labeled "Romantica," though this is almost certainly nothing more than a fun coincidence.
All things considered, there are definitely some wrinkles. For starters, while Scream 3's revelations effectively place Roman in Woodsboro one year before the events of the first Scream, there's no dialogue to suggest he was actually present for the first Ghostface murders. There's always the possibility that he simply didn't think it relevant enough to mention, but this is pure conjecture.
Additionally, while Roman was known to toy with Sidney in Scream 3 -- namely by pretending to be their mother speaking from a body bag -- he did this while he had a home-court advantage and an easy means of escape. Roman was also playing the long game and -- as the killer -- was very good at covering his tracks. Stalking Sidney from outside her house on the outskirts of Woodsboro is one thing. But wearing a Ghostface costume in a public grocery store, in broad daylight, while the entire town is on high alert, would seem to be uncharacteristically short-sighted and reckless on his part.
The Third Ghostface May Have Been a Prankster
If the supposed third Ghostface wasn't Roman, then who was it? One counter-theory claims that the Ghostface seen in the trees and the grocery store was never actually physically there. Rather, he was a visual motif used to illustrate to the audience that Sidney was in imminent danger while also throwing their scent off of Billy and Stu. While this idea is a bit out there, it would explain how Ghostface was able to get into the grocery store undetected.
Another theory suggests that someone was indeed physically wearing the Ghostface costume in these scenes, but they were no one special. After all, the Ghostface costume is incredibly easy to get ahold of in-universe, and Woodsboro High students are even seen running through the halls while wearing the mask as a sick joke. The stray Ghostface sightings may have simply been the work of one or more pranksters, though why they decided to creep on Sidney and Tatum specifically is anyone's guess.
Probably the biggest point against the Roman theory is the fact that despite both being directed by Wes Craven, Scream and Scream 3 had different writers. The first film was written by Kevin Williamson, who later penned Scream 2 but did not return for the third film -- which was instead written by Ehren Kruger. The Scream 3 Williamson originally had in mind was very different from the one that ended up being made, with Kruger even rumored to have discarded many of the notes Williamson left behind. It then seems unlikely that Roman being retroactively added to the first Scream was intentional on Kruger's part and borderline impossible that it was Williamson's idea.
However, while Roman Bridger secretly being in the first Scream is improbable, it is still ultimately a very plausible theory. There are a few things that weaken it, but there doesn't appear to be anything that outright kills it. It doesn't entirely fall apart under scrutiny as most fan theories do. Whether fans actually buy the theory is totally up to them, but if nothing else, it definitely makes the original Scream more interesting on a rewatch.