Matthew Lillard Assures ‘Scream 7’ Won’t ‘Ruin the Franchise’: It’s ‘Fantastic’

Matthew Lillard is assuring fans that Scream 7 isn’t getting all woozy on us.

The 55-year-old actor appeared at Silver Scream Con in Worcester, Massachusetts, on Saturday, Sept. 14, where he and his Scream franchise costar Skeet Ulrich got to talking about Kevin Williamson‘s upcoming seventh installment.

“I’m thrilled to be back,” Lillard said. “The movie’s fantastic, and I’m really excited for people to see it. It’s not gonna ruin the franchise, that’s the good news. I don’t think!”

Lillard last appeared in the franchise in Wes Craven‘s original Scream (1996) as high-school student Stu Macher, a horror-movie-obsessed friend of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell). He is eventually revealed to be one of the killers behind the Ghostface mask, alongside Billy Loomis (Ulrich, 55).

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In the slasher, Billy is killed with a gunshot to the head by Sidney, while Stu seemingly meets his end when she pushes a TV onto his head — all after Billy and Stu stab each other repeatedly, in an attempt to make themselves look like victims. But Stu’s death is never confirmed.

Lillard first appeared to tease his return as villain Stu in January, posting a video to his Instagram grid that showed a hand writing out one of his character’s memorable quotes from near the end of the original Scream: “My mom and dad are gonna be soo mad at me!!”

Fans were beside themselves in the comments, with one writing, “Our king returns to the screen as he always said he’d be right back!!!” and another quoting another of Stu’s iconic lines: “I’m feeling a little woozy here! 🔪.”

During his panel at Silver Screen Con alongside Ulrich, their original Scream costar Rose McGowan and Ghostface voice actor Roger L. Jackson, Lillard recalled getting a call about returning from Williamson, 60, “in the middle of the day.”

“I took the phone call, and we kind of small talked. He’s like, ‘Are you interested in coming back?’ ” the Five Nights at Freddy’s star continued, adding with a laugh, “And I literally thought to myself, ‘I’ve been waiting for this call for, like, 20 years.’ “

Lillard went on, “I was so excited. I know exactly where I was, I know exactly that time of day. I know what I was wearing. I was like, ‘Oh, my God.’ And I was on a walk. It’s so weird, it’s like these moments that burn into your memory.”

While Lillard has not reprised his role as Stu in the nearly three decades since Scream was released, he did appear in cameos in Scream 2 (1997) and the fifth movie, Scream (2022), the former as a partygoer and the latter in a voiceover role. Ulrich, meanwhile, returned as Billy in the fifth film and Scream VI (2023), in the form of visions from his daughter Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera).

As Ulrich said of his longtime friend and former costar during their Silver Screen Con presentation, per Bloody Disgusting, “I knew how much he wanted to do it, and when he got it I remember just being elated for him because it’s something he had been wanting for a long time.”

Of his imminent return, Lillard said, “They were gonna try and keep it secret until the movie came out. I’m like, ‘Okay, we’ll try it.’ “

Scott Foley — who starred in 2000’s Scream 3 — and Mark Consuelos have also been confirmed to be part of Scream 7, alongside Lillard. They join several legacy cast members in the upcoming sequel, including Campbell, 51, Courteney Cox, David Arquette and Jackson, 67.

New addition Isabel May plays the daughter of Campbell’s final-girl character Sidney, while Joel McHale joins as Sidney’s husband Mark (who is not the same Mark that Patrick Dempsey played in Scream 3).

Celeste O’Connor, McKenna Grace, Asa Germann and Sam Rechner are also among the cast, while Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown will reprise their roles from the previous two films, following the exits of Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega.

Scream 7 hits theaters Feb. 27, 2026.