The Scream franchise is bringing back a former villain for its next entry.
Per Deadline, Matthew Lillard is returning for Scream 7. Lillard played Stu Macher in 1996’s Scream.
Fans might be wondering how Stu can return for the seventh film when he died in the first. In the climactic twist of Scream, Stu and his buddy Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) are revealed as the Ghostface killers wreaking havoc on Woodsboro. Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) eventually kills Stu by dropping a TV on his head.
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Did Stu actually survive that night? Will Stu appear in flashbacks? Details on Stu’s return are under wraps.
Filming is currently underway on Scream 7. After sitting out Scream VI because of a contract dispute, Campbell returns to headline the seventh entry as Sidney Prescott, the iconic final girl. Other actors reprising their roles from previous Scream movies include Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers, Mason Gooding as Chad Meeks-Martin, and Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin. Isabel May and Joel McHale will play Sidney’s daughter and husband, respectively.
Scream 7 also stars Celeste O’Connor, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace, Sam Rechner, Anna Camp, and Mark Consuelos. Scott Foley, who previously portrayed Roman Bridger in Scream III, has been cast in the seventh film. It’s worth noting that Roman died at the end of the third movie.
Scream VI stars Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega will not return as sisters Sam and Tara Carpenter. In November 2023, Spyglass fired Barrera from Scream 7 after speaking out about the Israel–Hamas war. Ortega dropped out the next day due to scheduling conflicts, though reports later surfaced that the Wednesday actor exited because of a contract dispute.
Scream creator Kevin Williamson is directing Scream 7 from a screenplay by Guy Busick. James Vanderbilt, Paul Neinstein, and William Sherak are producing.
Scream 7 opens in theaters on February 27, 2026.
