Scream 7: Matthew Lillard to return to horror film franchise - despite character being killed off in 1996
Matthew Lillard is returning to the Scream movie franchise.
The 55-year-old actor portrayed Stu Macher in the first 1996 movie but despite one of the original Ghostface killers being killed off when Sydney Prescott (Neve Campbell) dropped a TV on his head, he's revealed he is returning for the upcoming Scream 7.
Deadline confirmed the news after the actor shared a teaser on Instagram, in which his hand could be seen writing one of Stu's famous quotes.
All in capital letters, the writing stated: "My mom and dad are gonna be soo mad at me!!"
The news comes shortly after it was revealed Scott Foley, who played Sidney's half-brother Roman Bridger, another presumed dead Ghostface, in Scream 3 will also be returning to the franchise in the upcoming film. No details of either actor's return storylines have been revealed, including whether or not they will be reprising the same roles.
Matthew previously revealed there was a version of Scream 3 which would have revealed he had survived in the original film, but plans for him to return were changed at the last minute.
He told Vulture in 2022: “I was supposed do Scream 3. I got paid for 3. Not really well, but I ended up getting paid for something I didn’t do because the idea was that I’d be running high-school killers from jail. Look, it’s a horror movie! Crazy things happen all the time. Have you seen Friday the 13th? Jason comes back - like Stu still could come back."
Scream also featured Skeet Ulrich as another Ghostface, Billy Loomis, and that character returned as a vision in both Scream 5 and Scream 6.
Joel McHale was recently announced to be starring in Scream 7 as Mark Evans, the husband of Sidney, while Isabel May will play their daughter.
The ‘Community’ actor will be joining Anna Camp, Celeste O’Connor, Asa Germann, Mckenna Grace and Sam Rechner as a newcomer to the ‘Scream’ franchise, while familiar faces like Neve and Courteney Cox - who plays Gale Weathers - will be returning for the horror film.
While plot details about Scream 7 are unknown, it is likely the movie will pit Sidney Prescott against the dreaded Ghostface once again.
The film - which is slated to hit cinemas in February 2026 - will not however include Scream VI’s Jenna Ortega, who played Tara Carpenter, with a scheduling conflict with the Netflix show Wednesday preventing the actress from appearing in the slasher.