Scream Star Addresses Franchise Return Despite Dead Character, “Hope I Don’t F It Up”

Fans have a lot of questions about the franchise stars returning for Scream 7, and Matthew Lillard is hoping he won’t be the one to answer them. The actor spoke to fans on a panel at 90s Con this weekend, but of course, he couldn’t share any spoilers or details about this reprisal. Lillard played Stu Macher in the original Scream back in 1996, but as with most characters in a slasher, he did not make it to the end. He returns to the franchise for the first time here, along with Scott Foley, whose character Roman Bridger also died in Scream 3. Lillard admitted that he is weary of messing with the legacy of the original movie, but he is excited to be back as well.

“I will say, I can’t say anything about it, obviously. But I am very excited and slightly terrified to be back because all I can do is really screw up a legacy that we have,” Lillard said. “I could really suck, and so that’s my fear. My fear is that I come back and sort of punish something that I could never have touched and been just fine. I hope I don’t F it up for everyone.”

It’s been almost three decades since Lillard played Stu, best friend to Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), and his accomplice in the series of grisly murders that made up the plot. Both killers died in the end, and there has been no hint in the ensuing five sequels that they were secretly alive, or that there were any doubts about their deaths. The same is true for Roman, which means fans have been left perplexed by these casting announcements.

[RELATED: This Scream 7 Fan Theory May Reveal Why All These Dead Characters Are Back]

It’s worth noting that Ulrich returned for Scream VI in 2023, appearing only in hallucinations and dreams as a specter of Billy Loomis haunting the characters of the present day. The same could be true for Lillard, and perhaps for David Arquette as well. He has been added to the cast despite his character, Dewey Riley, dying in Scream 5.

Fans seem to expect more simply because Lillard and Arquette’s casting was announced early, but there are other explanations for that. It’s possible the studio knew it would be hard to hide Lillard and Arquette’s involvement in the film, and chose not to try. It’s also possible they hoped to capitalize on the return of these fan-favorite stars, especially after all the drama surrounding the franchise lately. Lillard spoke out on behalf of Neve Campbell when she declined to return for Scream VI due to a pay dispute. Meanwhile, the studio fired star Melissa Barrera over her social media commentary about the conflict in Palestine, and after that, Jenna Ortega left the cast, reportedly due to scheduling conflicts.

Former stars have been called back into action to fill in, but as it stands, we don’t know how exactly they’ll fit into the story. We will find out when Scream 7 hits theaters on February 7, 2026.