Fans of the franchise will soon see Matthew Lillard return as Stu Macher in Scream 7. Ahead of the movie’s release, it was reported that Lillard’s Stu would be one of multiple Ghost Face killers from previous Scream films to be making a return. Filmgoers will have to check out the new film upon release to see how exactly that happens, given Stu’s presumed death by television at the end of the first Scream.
In any case, Lillard reprising his role as Stu as many longtime Scream fans excited. On the other side of the coin, that level of excitement had Lillard stepping back into the role with some trepidation. As the actor explained in a new interview with ComicBook, he started to fear that his comeback may somehow tarnish the beloved character’s legacy, despite how happy he was personally to step back into Stu’s shoes.
“I mean, all I’m doing is putting everything that everyone loves in jeopardy, right?” Lillard noted. “And there’s a world in which you come back, and I sh*t the bed as a 54-year-old man, doing what I did when I was 26 or whatever. I mean, that’s horrible. So, yeah, I was very excited to be asked. And then as we got closer and closer, I became more and more concerned that I would screw up what fans thought of me or Stu in general.”
Be that as it may, Lillard dropped a little tease about what fans can expect from his return. With the original Scream, director Wes Craven had allowed the actor plenty of leeway, resulting in Lillard improvising some of his most quotable lines. In his new interview, Lillard hinted that Scream 7 helmer Kevin Williamson, who also penned the OG Scream, had similarly allowed him to get creative.
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As Lillard noted, “I think Kevin Williamson understands that sometimes I come up with good stuff, so I won’t say anything else other than that. There’s a handful of creators that allow me to play, and Kevin’s one of them.”
Lillard reunited with Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox for Scream 7, with the two respectively reprising their roles as Sidney Prescott and Gale Weathers. The new film also stars Isabel May, Anna Camp, Joel McHale, Mckenna Grace, Mason Gooding, and Jasmin Savoy Brown. Once again, Roger L. Jackson is also back as the voice of Ghost Face.
Scream 7 premieres in theaters on Feb. 27, 2026. Meanwhile, Lillard’s special brand of Ghost Face Vodka is on sale now.
