Leaked Scream 7 trailer confirms long-standing rumor about a popular character's return

Scream 7 doesn't slash into theaters until February 27. However, if you've been to the movies recently, then you may have seen another new trailer for the sequel. The trailer has also leaked online, including on Reddit and TikTok. Paramount hasn't officially released it outside of theaters, but already, a major reveal has been spoiled.

Matthew Lillard is back as Stu Macher. At the very end of the trailer, Lillard's voice is clearly heard talking to Sidney (Neve Campbell). To be clear, the trailer doesn't actually show Stu. However, Lillard has recently given interviews confirming his return. He even confessed to ComicBook that he's nervous about how Stu's return will be perceived. After all, he's one of the two original Ghostfaces, alongside Skeet Ulrich's Billy Loomis.

Lillard told the website, “I mean, all I’m doing is putting everything that everyone loves in jeopardy, right?” He added, “And there’s a world in which you come back, and I sh-t the bed as a 54-year-old man, doing what I did when I was 26 or whatever. I mean, that’s horrible. So, yeah, I was very excited to be asked. And then as we got closer and closer, I became more and more concerned that I would screw up what fans thought of me or Stu in general.”

Color me skeptical, but I don't think Stu will return in a way that shows he survived the end of the first movie, after Sidney pushed a TV upon his head. In fact, I think it's more likely his voice and maybe his likeness, in AI form, will be used by the new killer(s) to torment Sidney and her daughter, Tatum (Isabel May). It's even unlikelier that Lillard, or the new theatrical trailer, would spoil such a major reveal. That's another reason why I doubt we'll see Stu as a living, breathing character.

The seventh film in the popular franchise appears to deal a lot with legacy, especially since this year marks the 30th anniversary of the first movie. Familiar names, including Kevin Williamson (this time in a directing role), Courtney Cox, and Neve Campbell have all returned. By using an AI version of Stu, it allows the film to pay tribute to one of the original Ghostfaces without actually showing him alive.

Additionally, unlike Friday the 13th or A Nightmare on Elm Street, Scream isn't a franchise that operates within the realm of the supernatural, other than the hallucination of Billy Loomis that Samanatha Carpenter (Melissa Barrera) frequently sees in the last two sequels because she's his secret daughter. Still, it's tough to believe that Stu somehow survived his fate at the conclusion of the first movie. If that is the case, then talk about jumping the shark.

Regardless, we'll find out Stu's role soon enough when the latest sequel hits theaters on February 27th. Here's another Scream trailer that's not the leaked one floating around the internet.

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