The end of January saw a big shocker for the horror worldwhen it was announced thatMatthew Lillardwasreturning as Stu Macher forScream 7. That’s exciting news, but also rather confusing, seeing as how the last time we saw Stu in 1996’sScream, directed byWes Craven, he had a TV dropped on his head, seemingly killing him. He’s not the only dead legacy star returning either, asbothScott FoleyandDavid Arquettehave been announced as well. Who knows how the seventh film will bring the dead back to life, but for Lillard, he’s admittedly scared.
In a panel moderated by People at Hartford’s 90s Con, Lillard confessed that he was “slightly terrified” to come back, adding, “hope I don’t f it up.“It’s understandable why he would be nervous. He should be.The Scream franchise is in a precarious situation with a lot of angry fansoverMelissa Barrera’s firing. IfKevin Williamsonbrings back Stu in a way that doesn’t work, it could ruin the legacy of the best Ghostface.
There Was No Ghostface Better Than Stu Macher
Part of the fun about the Scream movies is that each one is a whodunit.You can take your pick of who your favorite killer is, or if the reveals work for you, but no matter how many Scream movies there are, none will match the killer reveal of the original. Kevin Williamson and Wes Craven dropped so many hints throughoutScreamthat Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) was the killer, but it was so obvious that it was hard to believe it could actually be him. But then Billy seemingly gets slain by the killer right in front of Sidney’s — and the audience’s — eyes. Then came the twist.Slashers almost always had one killer, butScreamgave us two. Billy was the killer after all, but so was his best friend, Stu. Billy’s fake murder was perfectly timed to make the twist even more shocking.
Stu Macher is the most memorable of the Ghostfacesbecause of how Matthew Lillard played him. While all the other Ghostface killers wanted fame, or, in Billy’s case, revenge for his parents splitting up, Stu was the wild, super-energized, crazy guy who just went along for the ride because Billy asked him to. “Peer pressure. I’m far too sensitive” was his excuse.He was terrifying and hilarious at the same time, and ever since, many fans have been begging for him to return somehow.
Stu Macher Nearly Returned for ‘Scream 3’
Matthew Lillard is technically inScream 2in a very minor blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo, butStu Macher was actually meant to return forScream 3. Lillard had been hired, with Kevin Williamson writing a script that would reveal that Stu was still alive and running a cult of Ghostface with high school students from his prison cell, butafter the tragedy of the Columbine school shootings, the plan was nixed.Scream 3ended up undergoing a fast rewrite that didn’t include Stu, which shows, thatit’s the weakest film in the franchise. Still, the knowledge that Stu Macher almost returned once gave fans hope that he could again.
Williamson has said that Stu Macher is dead, but that hasn’t stopped Matthew Lillard from being asked whether he’d ever return over and over again. It’s not because fans just want more of the same. No offense to the likes of Scott Foley andTimothy Olyphant, but no one was asking if they’d ever come back.Fans want Stu Macher back because of how entertaining the character was and just how likable Matthew Lillard is. He comes across as a kind and humble man, but he didn’t get the huge acting career he deserved. Now,thanks in large part toFive Nights at Freddy’s, he’s making a comeback. What better way to celebrate that than to resurrect his most famous character?
There Is a Lot of Pressure on ‘Scream 7’
When Wes Craven passed away in 2015, it seemed like Scream was over for good, especially sinceScream 4underperformed and a planned new trilogy was canceled. But in 2022, Radio Silence successfully brought the franchise back withScream 5. We got the returns of legacy actors likeNeve Campbell,Courteney Cox, and David Arquette, but the focus was on a new cast that included Melissa Barrera,Jenna Ortega,Mason Gooding, andJasmin Savoy Brown.Scream 5was a big hit, leading to the quick announcement ofScream 6, but that’s when everything began to unravel. After not getting the pay raise she deserved, Campbell walked away. That was hard to deal with, but from a story perspective at least, it worked,because Sidney deserved a break.Scream 6was a strong movie even without its franchise lead, which meantScream 7would quickly follow, but then came even worse news whenMelissa Barrera was fired over comments she made about the Israel-Palestine conflict. This angered many who thought she had done nothing wrong.
Matthew Lillard Says ‘Scream’ Shaped His Career - but Not the Way You’d Think [Exclusive]
“Sure, it made me more relevant to some capacity.”
With Campbell out, Barrera fired, and Ortega not coming back either,it felt like it was time to say goodbye to Scream for good— but Hollywood isn’t going to let a moneymaker die that easily. They returned to the past, not only bringing back Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox but also hiring Kevin Williamson to direct. Then came the trifecta of shocking news: Scott Foley, Matthew Lillard, and David Arquette would somehow be inScream 7too. Depending on your personal preferences, this either excited you or made you roll your eyes. If you’re in the latter category,resurrecting Stu Macher reeks of desperation and a way to bury the controversy. On top of that, a lot of people are sick of legacy sequels, as it comes off as lazy.Halloweendid it,I Know What You Did Last Summeris doing it, and now Scream continues to do it. Horror audiences want something new, but instead, we just keep getting franchises being run into the ground.
Scream 5already brought back a dead Ghostface by having Billy return as a ghost hallucination, whichended up being the only questionable part of an otherwise great movie. That twist was ridiculed, so will Stu Macher get the same treatment? There seems to be two possible ways he could return. One is that he’s still dead and is a ghost hallucination, or the more popular theory, the new Ghostface uses AI to bring back Stu and others from Sidney Prescott’s past.
The other option is that Stu is still alive and we’re going to finally get the original idea forScream 3. To do that, though, feels unrealistic and would spit in the face ofScream’s ending. Matthew Lillard is a great actor and he deserves his career resurrection, butScreamhas become so controversial that a large segment of fans are going to be pissed no matter what he does. Stu Macher is the best Ghostface in the entire franchise. It matters what happens to him inScream 7. If the return doesn’t go well for Scott Foley’s Roman Bridger, no big deal, butit could cheapen the legacy of Stu, a character that maybe should have just been left alone. That’s the last thing Matthew Lillard deserves.
