I Am Obsessed With These Fan Theories On How Stu Macher Could Return For Scream 7 (Now That Matthew Lillard’s Casting Is Confirmed)

The Scream franchise started in 1996 with a meta take on the horror genre and a killer opening sequence that had everyone asking, “What’s your favorite scary movie?” Nearly 30 years later, the franchise has expanded to include five sequels, a spinoff television series, and a seventh movie set to be a “legacy sequel” on the way.

Much of the franchise has centered on the character of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) and the people in a Ghostface mask who have tried to kill her. One of the original killers in the very first movie is Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard), who seemingly meets his end after Sidney drops a TV on his head. Fan theories have persisted since the original trilogy concluded that Stu might have actually survived his encounter with Sidney. With Lillard confirmed to appear in Scream 7, there are a lot of fan theories about just how the movie will bring him back.

You are watching: I Am Obsessed With These Fan Theories On How Stu Macher Could Return For Scream 7 (Now That Matthew Lillard’s Casting Is Confirmed)

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Stu Is Alive And Leading Kills From Prison

This Theory Recycles A Scrapped Scream 3 Plot

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Scream 3

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Horror

Mystery

7.5/10

Release Date

February 4, 2000

Runtime

116 Minutes

Cast

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  David Arquette

  Dewey Riley

• 

  Neve Campbell

  Sidney Prescott

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The least exciting of the fan theories calls back to one of the original ideas for Scream 3. A scrapped Scream 3 plan would have featured the reveal that Stu Macher had actually survived his injuries from Billy’s stabbings and Sidney’s TV throwing and that he was serving his time in prison. While there, Stu would have still had a lot of influence.

The idea was that Stu would have been keeping up with the attempts on Sidney’s life after his incarceration and would have been able to give advice to other would-be murderers who were impressed with the plan he and Billy had. While this would have made a great plot in an earlier movie, and could still work for a different villain in the Scream franchise down the line, it’s not quite as exciting as a prospect or one to obsess over.

That’s largely because Scream writer Kevin Williamson already used a similar idea in his television series The Following. There, he had a killer who became a cult-leader, instructing his followers from prison as they carried out his attacks. It does not feel like a great fit for the Scream universe.

7

Stu Is A Hallucination

Stu Could Be Someone Else’s Psychological Torture

One of the more interesting ways to bring a deceased character back in a movie like those in the Scream franchise is as a manifestation of a point-of-view character’s subconscious. We see this with Sam when she is grappling with the fact that Billy Loomis is her father. With Melissa Barrera’s exit from the franchise, however, we will not see her being metaphorically tortured by Billy or moving on from him.

The possibility exists that Stu could be this for a different character. While the idea is exciting only because it could give Matthew Lillard a really fun way to play the character, it’s already been done with Sam and Billy, so the idea would not feel fresh for the franchise. As much as the franchise likes to retread old ground with ideas about family and revenge, it does not play out the exact same storylines again. It finds ways to reinvent them.

That makes this the least likely option unless the team behind the movie can find a way to make this work. What could work is Stu popping up in Sidney’s nightmares. Other cast members are returning for the movie whose characters are dead as well, so a nightmare scenario for Sidney, whose past keeps coming back for her, seems likely.

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Stu Is Alive And Hidden By His Family

His Family Has Been Mentioned But Not Seen

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There are a few things we know about Stu Macher’s family from the franchise so far: his parents were well-off by Woodsboro standards, he was worried about disappointing them when they found out about his kills, he has a sister, and his sister’s son was a victim of another Ghostface. That, however, is all we really know about his family. There is no indication of whether they would have tried to protect Stu from the consequences of his actions or whether they would have tried to help him.

If his family is as wealthy as fans believe, it’s entirely possible that they could have set Stu up somewhere far away from the bloody actions he took in high school. He would have time to heal, physically and psychologically. Because Scream 5, 6, and 7 are all “legacy sequels,” taking a look at a new generation of characters who have connections to the originals, it would not be out of the realm of possibility for the Macher family to appear, or for it to be revealed that they have been hiding Stu from the authorities.

While this is an exciting theory, and one that has been bounced around extensively on Reddit, it’s hard to know what direction the story would take. Would Stu be unable to act as a Ghostface due to the injuries he sustained? Would he be keeping up with Sidney’s life and the lore? There are a lot of possibilities here.

Fans have also been theorizing since the casting of Anna Camp and McKenna Grace that their characters are relatives of Stu’s, and it’s easy to make that connection.

Lillard has actually had physical cameos (in Scream 2 at a party) and voice cameos (in Scream 5 at a party) in the Scream franchise outside of his initial appearance as Stu.

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Stu Is Alive And Becomes An Ally For Sidney

Could Scream 7 Take A Hannibal Lecter Approach?

A popular trope in crime dramas in recent years involves a killer being somewhat reformed by acting as a consultant for the very people who put him behind bars. There exists a theory that the same could be done with Stu in Scream 7 and beyond. He has been a Ghostface, so if he is alive and held in prison or a mental health facility, why not allow the heroes to use his experience to their advantage?

Of course, a 1996 Ghostface and a 2020s Ghostface might have very different concerns and motivations, so Stu being able to get inside the head of a new killer 30 years later may work, or it may lead to Stu realizing he wants to be the one behind the mask. While it would give Matthew Lillard the chance to really chew some scenery, it might not work for the slasher genre as well as it does in a crime procedural on television.

Of course, for all these theories about the possibility of Stu being alive, there is a downside. Kevin Williamson has already proclaimed in interviews that Stu is dead. While the movies have hinted at conspiracy theories that Stu is still alive, it seems unlikely that Williamson would go back on that idea, even in a movie franchise known for its third-act twists.

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Matthew Lillard Is Not Playing Stu

Think Wes Craven’s New Nightmare

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Wes Craven’s New Nightmare

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Horror

Fantasy

Thriller

7.8/10

Release Date

October 14, 1994

Runtime

112 minutes

Cast

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• 

  Heather Langenkamp

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  Robert Englund

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Because the plot of the Scream movies is kept under wraps while filming – in the past some cast members have even filmed fake scenes to keep people guessing about the real identity of Ghostface(s) in the movie – it’s entirely possible that we are all simply assuming Matthew Lillard is back in Scream 7 to play Stu. He does not have to play Stu. He very well could be playing Matthew Lillard playing Stu Macher in an even more meta take than Scream typically goes for.

This idea has been done in the Nightmare on Elm Street franchise with Wes Craven’s New Nightmare as the actors who played the characters were stalked by Freddy Krueger in real life. More recently, it’s been done in the Chucky franchise with Jennifer Tilly playing both herself and her character Tiffany.

One Redditor notes that if the Scream franchise opted to go that route, “It would be hilarious to have Matthew Lillard be the opening kill…” It would be one way to honor Wes Craven’s legacy and keep fans on their toes after all of the speculation.

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Stu Returns Only Briefly

The Opening Kill Could Still Be Stu

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The Scream movies are known for their iconic opening sequences. The first movie changed the horror opening game by casting a big name – Drew Barrymore – and then giving her a brutal death just a few minutes into the movie. The second movie upped the ante by killing off characters in a movie theater while the Stab franchise debuted a movie within the movie. Every movie has taken what the audience thinks they know about a horror movie and twists it, even in the opening sequence.

One Redditor thinks Scream 7 could do it again by bringing Matthew Lillard back only to have Stu Macher be the first kill of the outing:

Scream 7 opens with the reveal that Stu did in fact survive Scream 1. He now lives under a new identity and has really turned his life around. We’re left with the impression that things are looking up for him, but then we remember this is the opening to a Scream movie. He gets a call from a mysterious stranger asking(well more like demanding) him to “play a game”. One thing leads to another, Stu gets killed for real this time, and we cut to the Scream 7 title card. This has the potential to be the most controversial things the Scream movies have ever done which is exactly why they should do it. Would the fans feel like they’ve been baited? Absolutely and that should be the point. I dont know how that would tie to to a larger theme in Scream 7 but it should in some way.

They point out that this would be a controversial choice and the audience would likely feel like they would have been baited into thinking Lillard would be a larger part of the movie, but that could work in the movie’s favor. It would be a meta wink to the audience to explain that Stu really is gone for good, and a way to honor Williamson having said that Stu is really dead.

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Stu Will Be Seen In A Flashback To The Inciting Incident

Scream 7 Could Take Us Back To Maureen

One of the best and most logical of fan theories for Lillard appearing in Scream 7 takes us all the way back to the beginning. Billy and Stu originally team up for murder when they kill Sidney’s mother. Billy has insider information about Sidney’s mother from Sidney’s half-brother Roman, as revealed in the third movie. One Redditor posits that we could actually see the original planning or carrying out of Maureen’s murder, with the idea that they were not the only three people involved:

Billy, Stu and Roman flashback before Scream 1996 where they plan Maureen’s murder…

And I’d bet that we see the flashback from the perspective of a fourth person who was in the room with them. That fourth person is the killer in Scream 7?

Using a flashback with an actor who is no longer in high school is not impossible. The visual effects technology exists to make it work, especially if there is existing footage of the actor at that time. With Lillard and the other original Scream actors, there definitely is, making it easier on the effects team to create a scene with a Lillard in 2025 who appears to be Lillard of 1996.

This brings up some interesting questions, though. Who else would have wanted Maureen Prescott dead? Stu bonded with Billy and let his dark side have fun. Billy and Roman had a grudge. Who would be revealed in the flashback to be involved, who could potentially have a reason to go after Sidney 30 years later? It’s fun to consider.

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A.I. Will Be Used To Make It Appear Stu Is Alive

A.I. Is Becoming A Popular Modern Horror Fixture

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The Scream franchise has always had its finger on the pulse of horror at the time each movie is being made.

Of course, the most popular theory about the return of Matthew Lillard to the Scream franchise is variations on how artificial intelligence might be used in conjunction with his return. The Scream franchise has always had its finger on the pulse of horror at the time each movie is being made. The original movie offered commentary on the slasher subgenre as we knew it up to that point, but each movie addresses the way the genre changes, most notably with Scream 5 and 6 as legacy sequels, or the combination of reboot and sequel (requel as the characters call it).

A.I. is becoming a fixture in modern horror movies. The success of M3GAN is proof of that with a doll that learns and thinks for itself, becoming a terrifying killer. A.I., however, is not just used in objects that can learn, but also in programming and visual arts. Whether or not A.I. should even be used in movies has become a hot-button topic. It makes sense, then, for Scream 7 to find a way to use that concept.

Whether that means using A.I. to recreate the likenesses or voices of past killers and victims for another Stab movie or documentary within the movie, or something more sinister remains to be seen. Scream 7 is expected to call back to Scream 3, as Scream 5 called back to the original and Scream 6 called back to its sequel. In Scream 3, Sidney and Gale were on hand as a Stab movie was being made about the events in the previous movie.

Of course, if A.I. was going to be employed for the movie within the movie, but the killer got their hands on it, that could be more interesting. The new Ghostface could use deepfake videos or calls with the voices of previous Ghostfaces to really get under Sidney’s skin. Using the actors who played the roles instead of actually faking those videos would give them an air of authenticity and make it harder for Sidney to tell they were fake within the movie.

The new Ghostface using the likeness of Stu Macher or getting their hands on the programming to create Stu Macher’s voice could really torture survivors like Sidney and Gale, who knew him personally. It could be one of the most interesting ways to provide commentary on modern movie-making and utilize legacy characters in Scream 7.

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Scream 7

Horror

Mystery

Release Date

February 27, 2026

Director

Kevin Williamson

Writers

Kevin Williamson, Guy Busick, James Vanderbilt

Producers

Neve Campbell, Peter Oillataguerre, William Sherak, Ron Lynch

Prequel(s)

Scream, Scream 2, Scream 3, Scream 4, Scream, Scream VI

Cast

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• 

  Neve Campbell

  Sidney Prescott

• 

  Mason Gooding

• 

  Courteney Cox

• 

  Joel McHale

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Category: Entertainment