Summary
Several stars from the firstScreammovie are joining its seventh installment. However, one of them is “terrified” of screwing up the franchise.
Multiple original cast members from theScreamfranchise are returning inScream 7.Neve Campbellwill reprise her role as Sidney Prescott after missingScream 6due to a pay dispute. Courteney Cox will also return as Gale Weathers. Her ex-husband in real life, David Arquette, will reunite with her in the slasher and reprise his role as Dewey Riley. And last but not least, Matthew Lillard’s Stu Macher is finally returning after nearly 30 years. Macher is one of the original Ghostface killers alongside Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich). One of them got candid about how they felt about returning to the franchise.
SeveralScreamstars joined People’s 90s Con, including Arquette, Jamie Kennedy, Lillard, Dermot Mulroney and Ulrich, to discuss their horror legacy. Lillard, who appeared in the first movie and will return to the franchise for the first time inScream 7after nearly three decades, was asked about his big comeback. “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,” he said. TheFive Nights at Freddy’sstaradded that he feared he would ruin the iconic slasher. He said:
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.
Lillard’s return to the franchise made headlines in January. Several sources claimed that he was finally returning toScream. Fans have been wondering if he is alive because, in the first film, Sidney throws a TV at him. His body has never been seen, but many have assumed he is dead because he appeared electrocuted. In February, following the announcement that Lillard was officially back atScream 7, he appeared at the Orange County Convention Center and shared some details about his casting. According to Lillard, fans have been asking him since the first film when he will return to the franchise. So, he is thrilled that he is finally back. As for how he would return in the upcoming horror movie, hejokingly said, “I come back as a fairy godmother. It’s gonna slay.” One fan shared a theory about Stu possibly surviving his encounter with Sidney in the first film with the help of Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton) and Mickey (Timothy Olyphant). Thefan theorysuggests that Judy keeps Stu’s survival a secret as she keeps him up to date with Sidney’s whereabouts. However, after Judy and her son, Wes, were killed by Ghostface fans, Stu lost his mind and would go after Sidney.
It remains unclear howScream 7will introduce Lillar’d return. It is still a mystery whether he will return as he is — alive and well — or will appear in flashbacks or as a ghost. A previous report claimed thatScream 7would use artificial intelligence (AI)to bring back OG killers; this might apply to Stu’s comeback. However, many will probably agree that bringing him back alive and being the mastermind behind the Ghostface killings will be a shocking but beautiful twist. It’s also possible to bring him back as a redeemed survivor, someone who can help Sidney and Gale. Lillard’s comeback is definitely one of the huge surprises in the upcoming slasher. Hopefully, it’s better than the fan theories and far away from Lillard’s fear that he will screw the franchise.
