The horror genre has been having a renaissance for years, to the joy of fans like myself. Some of the best horror movies have returned to theaters with new sequels, including Wes Craven's Scream. The seventh movie is one of the most highly anticipated upcoming horror movies, partly thanks to its inclusion of OGs like Matthew Lillard's Stu Macher. The 55 year-old actor recently shared his excitement over coming back, while also maintaining that the new slasher is 'not gonna ruin the franchise.' Well, that's a relief.
What we know about Scream 7 is very limited, but fans are excited to see a bunch of legacy characters appear. Fans are hyped Neve Campbell will be back as Sidney Prescott, but Lillard will also somehow return, despite Stu's death in the first movie. While appearing at Silver Scream Con (via Bloody Disgusting), he shared his reaction to getting the call, offering:
And I literally thought to myself, ‘I’ve been waiting for this call for, like, 20 years. I was so excited. I know exactly where I was. I know exactly that time of day. I know what I was wearing. I was like, ‘Oh, my God!’ And I was on a walk. It’s so weird, it’s like these moments that’s burned into your memory.
While Lillard had a sneaky cameo in 2022's Scream as the Ghostface with a flamethrower, Kevin Williamson's forthcoming slasher will seemingly bring back Stu. Exactly how this will work remains a mystery, but fans are hyped about seeing the fan favorite killer alongside iconic scream queen Neve Campbell.
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There are countless questions about Scream 7, especially since Stu isn't the only legacy character returning from the dead. Scott Foley will be back as Roman Bridger, as will David Arquette, despite Dewey's brutal death in the 2022 movie. While we continue to wonder how these returns will go down, Lillard assured fans of the quality of the next sequel. In his words:
I’m thrilled to be back. The movie’s fantastic, and I’m really excited for people to see it. It’s not gonna ruin the franchise, that’s the good news. I don’t think!
Well, that's a relief. Given the property's wild success and iconography, longtime fans like me don't want to see a bad sequel arrive and tarnish its legacy. Even though Neve Campbell wasn't in Scream VI, that sequel's plot twists, NYC setting, and brutal Ghostface(s) still made it a success.
While the pressure is on for Scream 7, there are a ton of OGs involved in the project. That includes director Kevin Williamson, who wrote the screenplay for the first two movies and served as a producer on the recent ones. If anyone understands how to make a good Scream movie it's him, which might be part of why Lillard is so confident about it.
All will be revealed when Scream 7 hits theaters on February 27th as part of the 2026 movie release list. Since it's just a few months away, hopefully we get more information about the slasher sooner rather than later... including how TF those dead characters are going to factor in.