Scream 5, the first installment in the iconic franchise not directed by horror master Wes Craven, is set to release in January 2022. Mixed reviews surround the return with different directors, but fans got excited when the trailer was released. Many original characters are returning: Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott, Courteney Cox as Gale Weathers, and David Arquette as Dewey.
When Scream 5 was announced, many wondered if this was an opportunity for Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) to finally make his return, as he was initially supposed to in Scream 3. Sadly, just three weeks before filming, the Colombine High School Shooting occurred, which caused a rewriting of the entire script. Lillard has been very vocal over the years that he wants to return to the series. When interviewed for Bloody Disgusting, Lillard stated that “I’m Alive. And I want you to know something. We need to start a writing campaign. We need to petition this.” Not only does Lillard poke fun at this, but many clues point to Stu marking his return in Scream 5.
The original, celebrated Scream was released in 1996. The film was about 17-year-old Sidney (Campbell) and her friends, who a serial killer terrorizes in a Ghostface mask in their small town of Woodsboro. The notorious ending when Stu was revealed to be the accomplice of Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), is still discussed today. Billy was very obviously killed, stabbed many times, and shot in the chest, but Stu was only stabbed twice before dropping a television on his head. Hence, he was never officially confirmed dead.
Scream 4 (2011) was the last film to be directed by Wes Craven before his unfortunate death in 2015. Scream 5 will be directed by Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillet (Ready or Not) and a direct sequel to Scream 4. With a famous horror film under the duo’s belt, the film seems to be in good hands. There isn’t much else that audiences know about the plot, but a few clues have been dropped about Stu’s return.
Aside from Lillard himself stating that he’s alive, other cast and crew members may have also spilled the beans. For one, Kevin Williamson, writer of the original Scream and producer for the latest installment, posted some set pictures on Twitter showcasing returning actresses Cox and Campbell smiling. Many fans quickly took to Twitter, stating that Stu’s house was almost certainly in the background. Why would Stu’s house be in the film if Stu isn’t there?
Another clue point includes an Instagram post from Marley Shelton, who played Deputy Judy Hicks in Scream 4. She made a post thanking everyone for making Scream 5 such a great experience. She tagged Skeet Ulrich, who portrayed the infamous Billy Loomis, out of the long list of people. Billy was Stu’s best friend, so if one of them returns, what makes it so impossible that the other won’t? The actress was quickly flooded with comments on this, and she deleted and reposted the message, getting rid of Ulrich’s name this time, but obviously, fans already saw it and were beyond ecstatic.
The fact that Lillard was 100% set to mark his return in Scream 3 already confirms that Stu survived the TV falling on his head, which heightens his potential reprisal in Scream 5. On the Bob Bendick Podcast, Lillard reveals that the original plot of the 3rd film was supposed to be Stu getting ready for an attack against Sidney while in jail. However, this was later changed following the tragic Columbine school shooting.
It will be interesting to see what Stu’s return will entail in the upcoming film. If Lillard does reprise his role, will he return as a murderer or a rehabilitated criminal? Stu did say in the first film that his motive for the killing was simply “peer pressure”, and he wasn’t a sociopath like Billy, so his return could be a good one. If horror movies have taught us anything, it’s that survival is pretty possible. We’ve seen it a hundred times before: Michael Meyers made his 12th return in Halloween Kills, although having “died” the past 11 films. Chucky returns in the Syfy show just this month, and Jason Voorhees also has returned 12 times in the Friday the 13th franchise. If these killers survive getting shot, caught on fire, and even melted and then exploded to death (Child’s Play 2), it is plausible that a simple TV falling didn’t kill Stu.
Since Stu is such a likable character (main thanks to Lillard being almost impossible not to love), it would be nice to see him returning as not the villain, but maybe helping track down the latest killer. He was the original killer, so he might have some tips on finding out who the new murderer is. He could also help out the killer himself, but audiences will just have to wait and see. Scream 5 hits theaters on January 14th, 2022.