After 30 years, Matthew Lillard is back as Stu Macher in Scream 7. His return follows on from that of his fellow original Ghostface star, Skeet Ulrich, who reprised his role as Billy Loomis for Scream (2022), and cameoed in Scream VI. Whereas that return was very much focused on the reboot’s new generation, and specifically Loomis’ daughter, Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera), this one is more about the past, and deeply connected to another returning franchise legend, Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott. Warning: SPOILERS for Scream 7 ahead.
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Stu’s ostensible return is a plot thread that runs throughout the movie, with the character making video calls to Sidney, tormenting her about who and where he’s going to target next. The question of whether he’s really alive or not is finally answered by Scream 7‘s ending, where it confirms that it was AI, and Stu, as far as we know, is very much dead. None of that is particularly surprising, but it does mean his return is something of a missed opportunity, and there could’ve been a much greater point and purpose to it.
Scream 7 Doesn’t Do Enough With Stu’s Return
It should be said that Lillard is absolutely great as fake Stu in Scream 7. He hasn’t missed a beat, bringing that same maniacal energy to the character, perfectly blending menace and mayhem. No one is having more fun in this movie than him, which is great to see after three decades away. It’s just a shame that the storytelling couldn’t match the performance.
Stu’s return isn’t terrible, but it does end up falling flat. That it would be some sort of AI deepfake scenario had widely been predicted long before release, and while that itself isn’t inherently a problem (predictable doesn’t necessarily equal bad), the movie never really goes beyond that basic premise with it. It’s all rather surface level and, at a time when the use of AI is such a hot button issue in Hollywood – including the horror genre quite specifically, after controversy surrounding Late Night With the Devil using it – there could’ve been a deeper commentary on its usage, problems, fears, anxieties, and controversies, but any of that is lacking.
Alternatively, it could’ve taken a couple of other approaches. Stu’s return has been theorized for almost 30 years – since Lillard made a cameo appearance as a guy at a party in Scream 2 sparked speculation of his survival – and that lends itself to a meta-discussion on the nature of fan theories within fandoms. Scream has touched on fandoms not getting their way before, of course, with the 2022 movie, but this could’ve honed in more directly on the theories, how expectations can impact movies, and whether it can live up to them.
Similarly, there’s a chance for some kind of commentary on returning characters, the continued power of nostalgia, and how everybody, inevitably, comes back in a franchise (which would’ve tied in with Sid’s own return). Scream is supposed to be meta and referential, but it only ever pays lip service to that in Scream 7, and Stu was the character where they had so many opportunities to really drive the point, any point, home, and instead did very little with it.
Should Stu Macher Have Returned From The Dead For Real In Scream 7?
The other option to all of this would be to have Stu Macher return from the dead for real, something that was considered (and a coda was even filmed confirming it), but shot down due to negative reception from test screenings. It is, to be fair, easy to see why: even for this franchise, the notion of Stu coming back from the dead is far-fetched. It might well have been too ridiculous, although, given how good Lillard’s performance was and how lacking the AI usage was, it does make me wonder if it would’ve been better off just fully committing to it.
There could, perhaps, have been a middle ground where the inclusion of Stu, specifically, tied into things more. I very much expected Anna Camp’s killer, Jessica, to reveal she was his sister or something like that. Again, relatives are a well-worn trope in the franchise, but it could’ve given her a stronger motive beyond reading Sidney’s book and then being mad she wasn’t in New York. Stu’s return in some form had long been anticipated and, as wonderful as Lillard is, it’s hard not to feel like they missed the mark, and probably can’t take another stab at it now, even with Scream 8 almost certain to happen.
Scream 7 is now playing in theaters.
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Official art by Bastien Lecouffe-Deharme -
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