Scream 6 Fan Theory Teases Return of Major Character

The latest trailer for Scream VI has arrived and has fans of the franchise speculating on who the latest spree killer is. Known for its meta take on the genre, the property has killed exactly those characters you’d expect, only to turn around and subvert expectations by murdering one or two surprise characters. One of the biggest twists of the franchise came from the very first entry, when it was revealed the Ghostface killer was, in fact, a duo.

One of the two people originally behind Ghostface was Matthew Lillard’s Stu Macher, who was seemingly killed after being stabbed several times and having a large television fall on his head. Now, however, a viral new TikTok suggests the character could be returning before too long at all.

Comparing clips from the original film and the Scream VI trailer, the clip in question uses Stu’s process of cleaning his knife as a way to connect the two films in question. After stabbing Billy Loomis in the first film, Stu runs the knife through his glove to get the blood off and within the trailer, the latest Ghostface pulls a similar move after they’re seen breaking into Gale Weathers’ (Courteney Cox) apartment.

Though Macher was apparently killed, there’s now precedent for bringing back those long thought dead. Hayden Panettiere’s Kirby Reed is returning for Scream VI, despite being gutted in Scream 4.

“We did talk about it, and we really wanted to. We had a Zoom with Hayden and we really wanted to try to find a way to get her into the movie,” producer Chad Villella previously told The Wrap about Panettiere’s return. “In fact, in that YouTube section of the movie, that was initially going to be a clip of Rian Johnson, talking about making Stab 8 with Woodsboro survivor Kirby. But we weren’t able to get all the pieces in place in time to get it into the movie. So we had to quickly pivot and Hayden was totally understandable about all that. But, we wanted to get some nod to Kirby being in the movie, and then we did get her voice to lend to the ‘to Wes’ toast.”  

Why is Scream 6 set in New York?

In an interview earlier this year, new Scream star Melissa Barrera said he thought the shift to New York ultimately made the franchise more terrifying given the scope of the city.

“It’s, like 20 times more mortifying. It’s awful,” Barrera shared with Collider of venturing to a new location for the franchise. “Because you also see how, in a city like New York City, everyone is kind of doing their own thing and someone is screaming for help, and no one will come to their help. No one comes to help them, you know, like, everyone’s kind of like, ‘I’m not getting into that.’ So it’s mortifying, because you’re chased by Ghostface, but you also see humanity and how that reacts in a situation like that. Anyway, I think I’ve already probably said too much.”

Scream 6 hits theaters on March 10th.