Bringing Again Matthew Lillard and Scott Foley Is the Solely Means To Save a Messy Scream Franchise

The Scream franchise has taken some twists and turns within the final a number of years, and it isn’t all on-screen. A few of these twists concerned actual life, with each Neve Campbell and Melissa Barrera leaving and being fired, respectively, at different times for controversial reasons. Now, as Scream 7 appears to be like to maneuver on by going again to the previous, with Campbell returning as Sidney Prescott, and Kevin Williamson coming again as each author and director, January 30 brought two more shocks. Two former Ghostfaces are being resurrected as properly, despite the fact that their characters have been lifeless the final time we noticed them. Each Matthew Lillard and Scott Foley are returning for Scream 7. It is comprehensible why some see this as a determined act (even when it was almost tried earlier than), but when finished proper, it is one of the simplest ways to save lots of a franchise in chaos.

Stu Macher and Roman Bridger Hid Beneath the Ghostface Masks

Scream is up to six films and still going strong due to the intelligent premise that retains bringing followers to the theaters. If you happen to watch a horror franchise like Halloween or Friday the thirteenth, you recognize who the killer is, however in Scream, Ghostfac’s id modifications in every film. That makes for a fun whodunit we try to solve as we watch along. The primary movie nonetheless does it greatest with the good ending the place there aren’t one however two villains. Author Kevin Williamson and director Wes Craven expertly put the killers proper beneath our noses the whole time. One of many killers is Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich), a teen out for revenge after Sidney’s (Campbell) mother had an affair together with his dad, inflicting his household to interrupt up. His love of scary motion pictures then takes his rage too far. His greatest pal, Stu Macher (Lillard), is an lively and not-too-bright man alongside for the journey, who kills for the joys. Ultimately, Billy takes a bullet to the brow and Sidney drops a TV on Stu’s head.

In Scream 2, we get two more Ghostface reveals, performed by Timothy Olyphant and Laurie Metcalf, however in Scream 3, we get the one time when there is only one particular person behind the masks. Within the final movie of the unique trilogy, the killer is revealed to be Roman Bridger (Foley), the director of Stab 3, and the long-lost half-brother of Sidney, a person consumed with hate as a result of his mom rejected him, so he received Billy Loomis to kill her. The film ends with Roman getting stabbed and shot lifeless.

Matthew Lillard Was Supposed To Return in ‘Scream 3’

Scream 3 was the least loved film of the trilogy due to how jumbled in it felt. Moderately than being a centered story, it got here throughout as every part being thrown on the wall to see what caught, and it lacked the attention-grabbing characters and thrilling plot of the primary two motion pictures. There is a purpose for that. It is as a result of the film actually was rushed, as a tragedy pressured the franchise to go in a unique course.

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Is that this the Mark that was foretold?

Scream 3 was written by Ehren Kruger, however it was initially penned by Kevin Williamson, the identical man who wrote the primary two movies. His script was wildly totally different from what we received. In it, a bunch of excessive schoolers, who have been like a cult of Ghostface, could be accountable for the murders, with the stunning ending revealing that Stu was nonetheless alive and controlling them. That will have made for a enjoyable film, however in April 1999, two youngsters went on a taking pictures spree at Columbine Excessive College. Naturally, the thought of killer teenagers was an excessive amount of for present audiences, and the idea was dropped.

‘Scream 7’ Cannot Repeat the Identical Franchise Beats

Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott covered in blood in Scream. — Picture through Dimension Movies

The final three Scream movies have been good, however the endings have grow to be predictable, with vengeful teenagers obsessive about horror motion pictures. It is extra apparent who the killers are, and their motives have misplaced the affect the movies as soon as had. Scream 7 cannot do the identical outdated factor the place Sidney Prescott is hunted down by some children who love slashers. It must shake issues up.

Bringing again Matthew Lillard and Scott Foley is as large of a shake-up as you will get. Now the query is what their position might be. They may return to easily be ghosts in Sidney’s creativeness, just like how Sam Carpenter (Barrera) was seeing the ghost of her father, Billy Loomis, in Scream 5. Nevertheless, seeing the franchise go into supernatural territory didn’t feel right. They may be a hallucination of Sidney’s crumbling thoughts, as we discover her trauma, however why would we get bulletins of cameos? Skeet Ulrich’s return was stored as a shock for viewers to be shocked by within the theaters.

Scream 7 likes to carry up a mirror to present film tendencies. Halloween just had a popular trilogy the place Jamie Lee Curtis returned as Laurie Strode, despite the fact that she’d been killed off twice. How way more meta are you able to get to then carry Stu and Roman again, both because the killers, or the leaders controlling a cult of them? Seeing Stu Macher particularly could be wild, and the right subsequent chapter for Matthew Lillard, who has had a profession resurgence that would herald youthful viewers thanks to his villainous role in Five Nights at Freddy’s. As he screams on the finish of that film, “I at all times come again!” That is by no means been extra true.

Scream 7

Launch Date: February 27, 2026
Director: Kevin Williamson
Writers: Kevin Williamson, Man Busick, James Vanderbilt
Producers: Cathy Konrad, Gary Barber, Marianne Maddalena, Peter Oillataguerre, William Sherak, Chad Villella, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin, Tyler Gillett, Ron Lynch