Scream 6 is out in the world and features the latest in a long line of Ghostface killers making their way through New York City. Still, there are plenty of connections to the original film, including a line of dialogue that suggests that Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) somehow survived the original film’s climax and is secretly alive and well out there somewhere.
Warning: The following contains slight spoilers for Scream 6. If you haven’t seen it yet and want to remain unaffected, stop reading now.
Halfway through the film, Mindy (Jasmin Savoy Brown), the equally geeky niece of Randy’s (Jamie Kennedy) from the first two Scream films, mentions a long-standing true fan theory that Stu actually survived being killed by Sidney (Neve Campbell) was killed in the first film and now lives in hiding somewhere.
This is a theory fans of the franchise have had since Scream 2, which featured Lillard in a cameo role very briefly. No reference was made to him, and nothing confirmed that the character was Stu. The plot thickens a bit, however, as Lillard says Lillard was supposed to be returning for Scream 3. “I was paid for 3,” the actor previously told Vulture. “Not really well, but I ended up getting paid for something I didn’t do because the idea was that I would lead high school killers out of jail.”
Of course, the plot of Scream 3 was eventually changed and the filming location moved to Hollywood. Based on Mindy’s comment in Scream 6, however, is the creative team behind the franchise attempting to reintroduce the character? No they are not.
“Mistakes were made,” co-director Matt Bettinelli-Olpin told GameSpot. “It was a joke on set. That’s when we were like, ‘We should just let them say it. Let’s just let her say it.’ And we ran out to talk to Jasmine and she said, ‘Oh great.’ That’s why it’s not on camera because we’ve already moved away from Jasmine’s reporting.”
So if Scream 6 got you pumped for Stu’s return, sadly, that’s nowhere in sight. Or is it? After all, it wouldn’t be shocking for the co-directors to give a wrong answer to keep secrets for the next film under wraps.
However, if we had to guess, it’s safe to say that Stu is very dead and won’t miraculously return from beyond the grave. That is, unless he also has a secret child he’s pursuing, much like Billy (Skeet Ulrich) and his daughter Sam (Melissa Barrera).
Scream 6 is in theaters now.
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