I never tire of writing about how Matthew Lillard’s Stu Macher might still be alive in the world of the Scream franchise, and this story, even though we already knew some of it, just makes me believe that soon we’re going to see our favourite psycho killer return for real.
Back in March, a month or so after Scream 7 hit cinemas and we learned that Stu Macher, played by Lillard, was back but only as an AI creation to haunt Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), but Scream creator and director of Scream 7, Kevin Williamson, revealed that there was, in fact, a scene filmed – and screened! – that proved without a doubt that Stu was alive.
“We shot a little coda at the end that we had in our back pocket,” Williamson said, “but oddly enough, the decision was that the audience wanted him dead.”
Well, now Lillard himself has talked about the scene and why he believes it was rejected by fans and it’s not necessarily because they don’t want Stu to be still alive.
At the recent Fan Expo in Denver, the actor revealed that the audience didn’t really understand what they were trying to do, and he believes it may have been because of how it was presented to them.
“[I told Kevin Williamson], we spent the entire movie proving that Stu is alive, and then if he doesn’t come out that door, people are going to be bummed. So, what we should do is we should shoot a post-credit sequence where it’s just Stu watching TV somewhere, alive.
“Yeah, we shot it.
“I will say, when they showed it [to test audiences], they showed it without credits. So, they go to the end, and then they show me in a reflection watching TV, and it didn’t work… So, it didn’t work because they didn’t test it right, but I think it would have been completely [different with the credits].”
For the record, I imagine this scene as having Stu watching TV, unaware that his likeness was used to try to kill Sidney again, seeing it on the news, and being really angry that it happened and even more angry that it failed. I kinda see it as his version of Thanos’ “Fine, I’ll do it myself,” line, leading to Stu getting back to murdering people in a cape and white mask and heading to find Sidney Prescott.
So…
Scream 7 was a disappointing Ghostface outing. It wasn’t as terrible as some say and there was a lot of great stuff in there, but overall, it was a letdown, and while audiences seem to pretty much agree on that point, it was also the most successful movie in the franchise and I fully believe that a big part of that was down to the return of Neve Campbell, who was absent from Scream VI, and the news that Lillard’s Stu, after thirty years, was finally back in the Scream series.
#FTN this is correct. Neve Campbell IS the #Scream franchise. pic.twitter.com/P6nUQFnInA
— Following The Nerd (@nerdfollowing) May 21, 2026
Fans wanted to see Stu back, after all, one of the biggest teases in cinema for thirty years and five movies, was that Stu Macher survived the first Scream movie – being stabbed and having a TV dropped on his head – and was out there waiting for his time to return.
There’s been hints, subtle appearances and not so subtle lines of dialogue, see link below, that have been setting his return up for all these years, so I think, if the audience rejected the coda, as Williamson called it, it was because Lillard is right and it was presented poorly or, perhaps, it was the wrong audience and they just didn’t understand the lore and mythology of the franchise and the character.
We break down why Matthew Lillard’s Stu Macher may be the villain in Scream 5
Either way, I have no doubt that Lillard will return, for real, in the Scream franchise, and Sidney’s past will finally have to be properly faced and, as a fan since 1996, I loved Lillard in Scream 7, but I can’t wait for the day he returns for real.
So, Stu is alive, thoughts? I know you have them, and I wanna hear ’em all.
When a new Ghostface killer emerges in the quiet town where Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has built a new life, her darkest fears are realized as her daughter (Isabel May) becomes the next target. Determined to protect her family, Sidney must face the horrors of her past to put an end to the bloodshed once and for all.
Directed by: Kevin Williamson
Starring: Neve Campbell, Isabel May, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Anna Camp, David Arquette, Roger L.Jackson, Michelle Randolph, Jimmy Tatro, McKenna Grace, Asa Germann, Celeste O’Connor, Sam Rechner, Ethan Embry, Mark Consuelos, Tim Simons with Matthew Lillard with Joel McHale and Courteney Cox
Scream 7 arrives on February 27th
Jason Reitman and Gil Kenan set for NYC Ghostbusters Day event next weekend
Marc
Marc is a self-confessed nerd. Ever since seeing Star Wars for the first time around 1979 he’s been an unapologetic fan of the Wars and still believes, with Clone Wars and now Underworld, we are yet to see the best Star Wars. He’s a dad of two who now doesn’t have the time (or money) to collect the amount of toys, comics, movies and books he once did, much to the relief of his long-suffering wife. In the real world he’s a graphic designer. He started Following the Nerd because he was tired of searching a million sites every day for all the best news that he loves and decided to create one place where you can go to get the whole lot. Secretly he longs to be sitting in the cockpit of his YT-1300 Corellian Transport ship with his co-pilot Chewie, roaming the universe, waiting for his next big adventure, but feels just at home watching cartoons with his kids….
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