The Scream 7 Trailer Teases The Return Of A Character We All Thought Was Dead

Ghostface just won't stay dead, will they? Going back to Wes Craven's 1996 slasher classic "Scream," the killer has been a staple of the genre. Part of what makes him (or her, depending on the "Scream" movie) unique is that it's always someone different under the Ghostface mask. So, who will be under the mask in next year's seventh installment in the franchise? That remains to be seen, but the first trailer for "Scream 7" does tease the return of someone who supposedly died a long, long time ago.

Directed and co-written by original "Scream" writer Kevin Williamson, "Scream 7" sees Neve Campbell return as Sidney Prescott, this time with her daughter being hunted by a new Ghostface. It all looks pretty by-the-numbers, frankly. However, at the very end of the trailer, there is a familiar voice that says, "This is gonna be fun." We never actually see the person the voice belongs to but, spoiler alert, it very clearly belongs to Matthew Lillard's Stu.

For those who may need a refresher, Stu was one of the killers in "Scream" (1996) alongside Skeet Ulrich as Billy Loomis. Now, even though his "Scream" character was seemingly crushed to death by a TV at the end of that film, it's been confirmed that Lillard will be appearing in "Scream 7." (Hence, the voice.) That leaves us with one simple yet burning question: How can that be possible? Is Stu actually alive? And, if so, where has he been all of this time? For the moment, Paramount and the film's creatives are keeping things under wraps, but anything is possible.

The "Scream 7" trailer doesn't offer many clues as to how Stu may return. In fact, it seems too straightforward for its own good, like it's hiding some big surprises, which would be par for the course for this franchise. For whatever it's worth, the official "Scream 7" synopsis reads as follows:

When a new Ghostface killer emerges in the quiet town where Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) has built a new life, her darkest fears are realized as her daughter (Isabel May) becomes the next target. Determined to protect her family, Sidney must face the horrors of her past to put an end to the bloodshed once and for all.

That "face the horrors of her past" line might contain the clues we need. 2022's "Scream" brought Ulrich back as Billy, albeit as a figment of his daughter Sam's (Melissa Barrera) imagination. With Stu, though, it feels like his return is going to be more in-the-flesh. Speaking to Us Magazine, Lillard previously had this to say on the subject:

"I had been sort of tongue-in-cheek pushing the fact that Stu's still alive, he went to prison. Like, I'll go get superhero jacked like [I've] been in prison for the last 20 years. And, you know, the Radio Silence [Productions] guys left a lot of breadcrumbs in the movies that Stu was still out there."

Basically, Lillard has suggested that Stu was never truly dead. He sure seemed dead, but stranger things have happened. Maybe he really has been in prison and finally got out on parole. With the leads from "Scream" (2022) and "Scream VI" sitting this one out (including Jenna Ortega's Tara), Williamson is using "Scream 7" as an excuse to dive into Sidney's past in a big, bad way.

It's very important to point out that Stu isn't the only one coming back for the seventh "Scream" movie. David Arquette's Dewey Riley was brutally killed in 2022's "Scream," yet he's also returning for this new movie. That goes double for Scott Foley as Roman Bridger, who was revealed to be the Ghostface in "Scream 3" prior to his death. On top of that, both of those characters' demises were far less ambiguous than Stu's.

In short, it's clear this movie is very serious about revisiting the past, no matter how wonky that may seem without more context. So, back to the question of Stu. Let's assume he's not been in prison for the last three decades. What are the other options? We now live in the world of AI and deepfake technology. Is it possible that Williamson is going to go extremely meta and timely with it by using AI to bring back the ghosts of Sidney's past? It's a possibility. If nothing else, that would certainly explain Dewey and Roman's involvement here.

We also know that "Scream" characters have gotten strangely good at surviving getting stabbed, so there are lots of ways this could play out. All we really know at this stage is that a lot of actors whose characters seemingly died in the previous "Scream" movies are going to appear in "Scream 7." Will bringing Stu back after all this time be a good idea? It'll all depend on how it's executed. We'll find out the answer for ourselves in a few months from now.

"Scream 7" opens in theaters on February 27, 2026.