There has been no shortage of casting announcements for the upcoming seventh Scream movie, with several raising eyebrows from longtime fans.
Not only will Scream 7 feature the return of Neve Campbell and Courteney Cox as Sidney Prescott and Gale Weathers but the latest movie in the meta-slasher series is also set to star several dead characters. Previous Ghostface killers Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) and Roman Bridger (Scott Foley) have been confirmed to return. Even David Arquette is returning as Dewey despite dying in the fifth movie.
The barrage of casting news might be exciting to some, but others are skeptical of what this could mean for the series. Are they going fully meta and doing a New Nightmare-style twist? Or is the franchise seriously reviving dead characters?
Well, it's not just fans who are nervous about what's to come. People Magazine moderated a panel at the recent '90s con where Lillard was in attendance.
The actor admitted that he has some fears about his return, though he didn't provide any context clues about how Stu is coming back after getting a TV to the head in the original 1996 film.
"I will say, I can't say anything about it, obviously. But I am very excited and slightly terrified to be back because all I can do is really screw up a legacy that we have," Lillard shared, "I could really suck, and so that's my fear. My fear is that I come back and sort of punish something that I could never have touched and been just fine. I hope I don't f it up for everyone."
The most prevalent fan theories believe that Scream 7 will tackle artificial intelligence and that the new Ghostface killer(s) might utilize AI videos to get under Sidney's skin. Could Lillard's return be confined to a deepfake video of some sort?
Skeet Ulrich, who played another iconic Ghostface killer in the original Scream, also returned to the franchise in the sixth movie. But his role was a cameo, which hadn't been announced beforehand. Does that mean Arquette, Bridger, and Lillard will have more substantial roles in the new movie?
Lillard's fears are justified. Although many are happy that he's returning, it's equally plausible that Stu's return (or Roman's or Dewey's) will weaken the movie's story.
We still have a long wait before Scream 7 is released in theaters. I wouldn't be surprised if we learn more details about Stu's return and the role he'll play soon.
Scream 7 is scheduled to release theatrically on February 27, 2026.