Matthew Lillard has confirmed his shock return for Scream 7 as supervillain Stu Macher.
The actor, 55, sH๏τ to fame in the iconic first instalment of the Wes Craven franchise in 1996, playing one half of the Ghostface killers alongside Skeet Ulrich as Billy Loomis.
Macher met an untimely end when Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) toppled a TV onto his head during a bloodsoaked finale, but rumors of his return have swirled for years.
Announcing his return, Lillard shared a video writing one of Macher’s legendary lines: ‘My mom and dad are gonna be sooo mad at me!!’
Fans went wild at the news writing: ‘Stu said he’d bE RIGHT BACK!!!!!!!!
‘I’m feeling a little woozy here!
Matthew Lillard has confirmed his shock return for Scream 7 as supervillain Stu Macher
‘Our king returns to the screen as he always said he’d be right back!!!
‘STU MACHER BACK IN THE YEAR OF OUR LORD 2025
‘WELCOME BACK, MATTHEW
‘This is wild! Iconic!
‘IM SCREAMING AT THE TOP OF MY LUNGS.’
Lillard’s return is not the only movie veteran making a wild comeback, with Scott Foley, who played Scream 3’s killer Roman Bridger, joining the cast.
Bridger was the half-brother of Prescott who was conceived after her mother Maurren Prescott – then known as Rina Reynolds – was Sєxually ᴀssaulted as a teenager at filmmaker John Milton’s party.
He murdered Maureen after she rejected his attempt at contact and embarked on a killing spree due to rage over Sidney becoming famous due to the killings.
Announcing his return, Lillard shared a video writing one of Macher’s legendary lines: ‘My mom and dad are gonna be sooo mad at me!!’
The actor, 55, sH๏τ to fame in the iconic first instalment of the Wes Craven franchise in 1996, playing one half of the Ghostface killers alongside Skeet Ulrich as Billy Loomis
Macher met an untimely end when Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) toppled a TV onto his head during a bloodsoaked finale, but rumors of his return have swirled for years
Lillard’s return is not the only movie veteran making a wild comeback, with Scott Foley, who played Scream 3’s killer Roman Bridger, joining the cast (Foley pictured in Scream 3 with Parker Posey)
Roman was sH๏τ and killed by Dewey (David Arquette) at Sidney’s request so the nature of his return is unknown.
Ulrich reprised his role as Loomis in Scream 6 as a vision haunting his daughter Sam Carpenter – with a de-aging effect used to make the actor look like he did in the 1996 Scream finale.
Campbell confirmed her return to the Scream fold last March after first playing the character in the original Scream.
Directed by Craven and written Kevin Williamson, the first in the series also starred David Arquette, Courteney Cox, Lillard, Rose McGowan, h, and Drew Barrymore.
Set in the fictional town of Woodsboro, California, the story follows high school student Sidney and her friends, who, on the anniversary of her mother’s murder, become the targets of a costumed serial killer known as Ghostface.
The murder mystery, slasher film ended up being a smash it at the worldwide box office, grossing $173 million after spending between $14-15 million on the production
The Craven and Williamson teamed back up for Scream 2 (1997), with Arquette, Campbell and Cox reprising their roles, along with newcomers to the cast Sarah Michelle Gellar, Jamie Kennedy, Laurie Metcalf, Jerry O’Connell, Jada Pinkett, and Liev Schreiber.
The first sequel proved to have similar success as the original, raking in $172 million at the worldwide box office, only this time the budget jumped to $24 million.
Williamson returned to the franchise for Scream 4 (2011) along with Craven as director, but it dropped off in the moneymaking department, earning $97.2 million with a budget of $40 million.
The fifth installment marked the first in the series not directed by Wes Craven, who died in 2015 and to whom the film is dedicated.
It brought in a slew of new cast members such as Melissa Barrera, Mason Gooding, Jenna Ortega, Jack Quaid, and Marley Shelton, to go along with Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Neve Campbell.
The box office receipts for the fourth sequel rebounded, eventually totaling $138.9 million while the production ended up costing $24 million.
Read More Courteney Cox confirmed to join Scream 7 cast 
The most recent in the franchise, Scream VI (2023), saw the return of Melissa Barrera, Cox, Ortega, and Gooding while introducing the likes of Jasmin Savoy Brown, Jack Champion, Henry Czerny, Liana Liberato, Dermot Mulroney, Devyn Nekoda, Tony Revolori, Josh Segarra, Samara Weaving, and Hayden Panettiere.
Campbell did not return due to a dispute over pay,
Directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett who worked with a script from James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, the sixth installment proved to be a winning combination by earning $169 million, while the production was said to be between $33-35 million.
Skeet Ulrich, Jamie Kennedy, Matthew Lillard are seen in Scream as Billy, Randy and Stu
The killers and Sidney are seen in Scream after Tatum’s murder
The news of a Scream 7 was announced in August 2023, with Christopher Landon set to direct, but months later the filmmaker, who’s resume includes Paranormal Activity: The Marked Ones (2014), Freaky (2020) and Happy Death Day (2017), announced on X that’s he’s no longer attached to the production.
Melissa Barrera will not be returning after being fired from the franchise in November 2023 over pro-Palestine posts that the production company Spyglᴀss Media said ‘crossed the line into hate speech.’
Scream 7, which is now being directed by Kevin Williamson, who wrote several of the previous franchise films, is scheduled to hit theaters on February 27, 2026.
