“Surprise, Sidney!” It’s the classic scary movie trope: just when you think the killer is dead, they return for a final scare — or a final Scream. 30 years after original Ghostface duo Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) failed to kill scream queen Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) during the 1996 Woodsboro Murders, Lillard is set to reprise his role in the upcoming Scream 7.
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Lillard confirmed the news on Instagram, sharing a video of a handwritten message: “My mom and dad are gonna be so mad at me,” a quote from 1996’s Scream.
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The original Wes Craven-directed Scream ended with Stu suffering multiple stab wounds before being electrocuted — supposedly to death — by a television toppled by final girl Sidney. It remains to be seen if Stu Macher is alive or if Lillard’s role is similar to Ulrich’s from-beyond-the-grave cameo in 2022’s Scream and 2023’s Scream VI, where Billy reappeared as a hallucination of his daughter, Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera).
Scream creator Kevin Williamson, who wrote the original and directed the new movie, teased Lillard’s return to the franchise in 2023.
“You can’t say ‘never,’” Williamson said. “There’s always that twin brother theory.” Lillard has supported the “Stu is alive” conspiracy, stating in a 2023 interview that he “would love to come back” to Scream.
The Scooby-Doo and Five Nights at Freddy’s star joins a cast that includes Courteney Cox as fellow Ghostface survivor Gale Weathers, reunited with Campbell’s Sidney for the first time since Dewey’s (David Arquette) death in 2022’s Scream 5. Scott Foley, who played Stab 3 director and fifth Ghostface Roman Bridger in 2000’s Scream 3, is also returning, it was reported Thursday.
Mckenna Grace (Ghostbusters: Frozen Empire), Celeste O’Connor (Madame Web), Asa Germann (Gen V), Sam Rechner (Heartbreak High), and Anna Camp (Pitch Perfect) have been cast in undisclosed roles.
While the “Core Four” is four no more — Barrera and Jenna Ortega’s Carpenter sisters aren’t returning — twins Chad (Mason Gooding) and Mindy (Jasmin Savoy-Brown) are back, as is Roger L. Jackson as Ghostface’s voice. Community star Joel McHale has been cast as Sidney’s husband, Mark Evans, with Yellowstone: 1883‘s Isabel May playing Mark and Sidney’s daughter.
Paramount Pictures has dated Scream 7 for Feb. 27, 2026. Deadline first reported the news of Lillard’s casting.
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