Although Stu appeared to die at the end of Wes Craven’s original film, rumors of his return in ‘Scream 7’ started circulating after the movie was announced. Matthew Lillard showed interest in returning for the Kevin Williamson-directed project as well but recently pointed out an issue with the direction of recent sequels.
“I think it’s in a good place. I think that [the franchise being] back in the hands of Kevin Williamson is great,” Lillard told Games Radar. “I love what [Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin] were doing before. Nothing against them. In fact, I thought they were taking a really exciting way.”
“I thought the movie got too violent,” he added. “I think 6 was, like… I don’t think Ghostface ever needs a shotgun. I think that the movies are – everything is trying to repeat what we did in the first movie in a lot of ways. Like, a maniacal monologue at the end. It’s really hard to do. I hope that Kevin takes it in a brand new, brave, and exciting direction so that we can sort of find different colors and different joys.”
‘Scream 6’ followed the Carpenter sisters, played by Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, and other survivors of the Woodsboro murders as they faced off a new Ghostface killer in New York City.
Barrera and Ortega were originally expected to return for ‘Scream 7,’ set for release on February 27, 2026. But Barrera was fired due to her comments on the Israel-Palestine conflict, and Ortega stepped down because of scheduling conflicts with ‘Wednesday.’
After that, Neve Campbell confirmed her return as Sidney Prescott, writing on Instagram, “Sidney Prescott is coming back! It’s always been such a blast and an honor to get to play Sidney in the ‘Scream’ movies.” She had skipped the last movie due to a disagreement over payment.
Patrick Dempsey is also in talks to reprise his role as Sidney’s husband, Mark Kincaid, years after debuting in ‘Scream 3,’ according to an October interview.
