Stu’s Alternate Scream 7 Ending Gets New Details From Matthew Lillard In Time For Paramount+ Debut

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Warning! Major spoilers ahead for Scream 7.

Stu Macher almost had a different fate in .

The newest Scream movie, written by longtime series writer Kevin Williamson, sees the return of Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott. This time, she must protect her daughter from a new Ghostface killer. Now available on Paramount+, the film also features familiar faces from previous movies, including a digitally recreated Stu Macher, played by Matthew Lillard, using AI technology.

At FAN EXPO Denver, actor Mason Gooding shared that Scream 7 considered an ending where Stu Macher had secretly been alive all along, even appearing watching TV. According to Gooding, this was initially proposed as a playful post-credits scene, but test screenings showed audiences didn’t react positively to the idea.

You know, I was reading what Damian Lillard had to say about that scene that didn’t make it into the final movie. He thinks showing it without the end credits during the test screening might be why they cut it. He goes into all the details, and you can check out his full explanation below if you’re curious!

I suggested to Kevin Williamson that after spending the whole movie establishing Stu was still alive, we needed to deliver on that. I proposed shooting a scene after the credits – just Stu watching TV, showing he’d survived. We did film it. However, when we showed it to test audiences without the credits rolling first, it didn’t land well. The issue wasn’t the scene itself, but the way it was presented. I believe if they’d seen it after the credits, the reaction would have been much better.

In the original 1996 film Scream, Stu is revealed as one of the Ghostface killers, along with Billy Loomis (played by Skeet Ulrich). He’s killed when Sidney pushes a heavy television onto his head. However, some fans didn’t feel his death was conclusive enough, leading to numerous theories about his potential survival over the years.

Fans who believed Stu was returning in Scream 7 seemed right when it was announced that Matthew Lillard would be in the movie. However, Stu is actually still dead in the film. His appearance was a trick – a deepfake used to scare Sidney. Other characters who had died in previous movies, like Dewey, Roman, and Nancy, also appeared this way.

The choice to mislead viewers with a fake return for Stu proved controversial, and the film’s dialogue strongly suggests he’s permanently gone. Reviews for Scream 7 were largely unfavorable, as critics found the reveals of who was behind the Ghostface mask, as well as the plot and characters, to be unconvincing.

Critics haven’t been kind to the film, giving it a mere 30% rating on Rotten Tomatoes – the lowest score in the series. While the extra scene after the credits probably wouldn’t have changed the overall negative reviews, it might have satisfied fans who were disappointed with the character’s actual return.

Despite having a large and well-known cast, the movie has still achieved a record-breaking score on Rotten Tomatoes. The film stars returning favorites alongside Courteney Cox, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, Isabel May, Joel McHale, Anna Camp, Mckenna Grace, and Celeste O’Connor. Roger L. Jackson once again provides the voice for Ghostface.

Okay, so Scream 7 didn’t totally blow everyone away, but it still made a huge $213 million at the box office worldwide, which is awesome! Because of that success, they’re already starting to plan Scream 8. Honestly, I’m really curious to see what happens with Sidney Prescott next, but it looks like we won’t be seeing Stu Macher return, which is a little disappointing.

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2026-05-29 18:28