The highly anticipated horror film Scream 7 is set to arrive in theaters next year, and it is preparing for a major family reunion. This latest installment marks the iconic return of Neve Campbell as final girl Sidney Prescott, following her absence from the previous film. She will, per tradition, be alongside Courtney Cox as journalist Gail Weathers, but they won't be the only fan-favorite characters returning to the fray.
"Returning to a character you portrayed in your mid-20s when you're 55 was a daunting task that gave me sleepless nights," the actor admits.
It has been established that a trio of different characters from earlier films are set to return in this latest sequel, despite dying in previous installments. The exact mechanism of their resurrection is still unclear. Fans should get ready for the reappearance of the beloved and nearly unkillable cop Dewey Riley, the director and Scream 3 killer Roman Bridger, and a member of the original killer pair, Stu Macher.
For Matthew Lillard, reprising his role in the franchise for the first occasion since a brief cameo is a long-held wish, even if he is terrified about the public's reaction. The actor clearly remembers the precise instant he got the offer from the series creator.
"I recall the conversation. I remember the small talk. I recall him asking. That moment is permanently etched on my mind," he says. "Therefore I'm really proud to be back. I'm really excited to be back."
Stu Macher has attained cult status in the decades since the original film was released, which made Lillard feeling very trepidatious.
"Truthfully, that's a part that is infamous, like it or not," he explains. "A character that is now represented in every single Ghostface mask that appears every October 31st."
Now that filming has concluded, Lillard is in the same position as everyone else to see the final product. He confesses to feeling significant anxiety about hoping not to be the one who ruins the beloved franchise.
"The outcome is either a success and people are thrilled to have you, or it's a miss," Lillard observes. "Going into it, I don't know if the movie's gonna work. I am unsure if people are eager to see me. I've definitely seen enough people state and say, 'Stu is dead. Why are they going back to this idea?' So the truth is that I feel a lot of responsibility to not ruin the franchise. I hope people exiting Scream 7 and thinking, 'Well, that sucked, and Matthew Lillard was the cause.'"
While many dedicated fans are eagerly awaiting Stu's reappearance, the big question of how he and the others come back persists. Perhaps they live rent-free in Sidney's mind, similar to a previous plot device. Alternatively, maybe they are somehow all alive in a strange shared scenario. The possibility of a self-referential narrative, inspired by earlier genre films, also exists.
Moviegoers will discover the truth when Scream 7 arrives in theaters.
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