Scream's Matthew Lillard Plays Coy About Return

Given both Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega have left the cast of Scream 7, the movie's been sent directly to development hell. Amid the reshuffling last year, filmmaker Christopher Landon was one of those who also left the project, leading the producers behind the production to scramble and find a new direction to go. If you ask most Scream fans, it would seem all the stops need to be pulled to get folks interested in Scream 7 once again; that's where Matthew Lillard comes into play.

The Scream franchise has been known to bring back multiple characters long-thought dead, and a popular theory amongst longtime fans suggest Stu Macher (Lillard) survived the seemingly mortal wounds he suffered in 1996's Scream. Lillard said in one recent interview he has yet to be called about appearing in Scream 7, before admitting he'd likely return if asked.

"Nobody has called me [Laughs]. I'll tell you that much," Lillard said in a new chat with Fear HQ. "No one seems that interested in the return of Stu except for the fans. The fans are freaking out and love the idea, and I would argue that if you throw a TV on my head, I'll survive. So, there you go!"

Before that, Lillard suggested he's ready to pursue other opportunities rather than revisiting a role he first portrayed nearly 30 years ago.

"Listen, this town in this day and age, and at my age, I've had a great career. I've come around second base and I'm heading for home. That's a baseball analogy. We're in stoppage time is a good football analogy in the UK. It's something that I'm super proud of. I'm glad it's in my life and my repertoire. I'm glad it's part of my history and lineage," he added.

Lillard continue, saying he's looking forward to appearing in future installments of the Five Nights at Freddy's franchise.

"It would have to make a lot of sense to go back as a story and as filmmakers," the actor concluded. "I'm really thrilled to be involved with Five Nights at Freddy's which has been a huge success and been a third franchise in my career, which I didn't expect. I'm more excited about the upside and future of that than going back to doing something I've done before."

Scream V and Scream VI are streaming on Paramount+. Scream VII is in development and has yet to set a release date.