Going Method Episode 1: Matthew Lillard Shares Scream Secrets & Teases Carrie TV Show

ScreenRant is kicking off its inaugural episode of Going Method with Ash, featuring none other than the universally beloved character actor Matthew Lillard. From kicking off a long tradition of Ghostface reveals in Scream to becoming the definitive Shaggy for a generation of Scooby-Doo lovers, Lillard had cemented his place in the cultural landscape, but that hasn't stopped him from branching out in recent years.

Whether he's launching his own DnD-inspired improv-comedy series with Faster, Purple Worm! Kill! Kill! or bringing tears to audience members' eyes with his role in Mike Flanagan's The Life of Chuck, Lillard is always making surprising yet delightful career moves. Such versatility makes him the perfect candidate for Going Method, which drops celebrity guests into scenarios from their own work, complete with hands-on challenges born from the stories they've brought to life onscreen.

Episode 1 took advantage of the synergy between Scream 7 opening in theaters and Lillard's own spirits company releasing a line of Ghost Face Vodka took create a competition in which host and guest would create unique Bloody Marys at their own peril before being judged by Ghostface himself. While mixing, Lillard offered insight into decades of Scream lore, shared fond reflections on his time with Scooby-Doo, previewed Flanagan's upcoming Carrie adaptation, and revealed his thoughts on Hollywood today.

Going Ghostface Upon Matthew Lillard's Scream 7 Return

The drink of choice at this first round of Going Method — courtesy of Macabre Spirits, co-founded by Lillard and screenwriter Justin Ware — was the brand-new Ghost Face Vodka. The killer new flavor launched in early February, just in time to celebrate the actor's return to the iconic horror franchise he helped catapult into pop culture. While the alcohol is 100% German Potato Vodka, he and Ash were tasked with spicing up their respective Bloody Marys for the sake of the competition.

Lillard is as passionate about Macabre Spirits as he is about his artistic craft. "One of the things that we do as a company is that we're never just transacting on the thing you love," he explained. "We're giving you a story." The story of Ghost Face Vodka comes in the form of a Mafia game, accessed through a QR code on the back of the bottle. "My idea is gathering around a table, everyone playing, drinking, having fun," the actor added.

He's certainly having plenty of fun in his return to the franchise that arguably catapulted him to cult favorite status. Stu Macher's reappearance felt inevitable, but Lillard himself wasn't sure it was ever going to happen. After a small cameo in Scream 2 and a few decades of "Stu Lives" rumors running rampant, the actor was ready to give up all hope when the original film's screenwriter (and Scream 7 director) Kevin Williamson made a surprising declaration.

A couple of weeks before I got the call, Kevin [Williamson] came out and said very publicly, "I don't think the Scream franchise needs Matthew Lillard." And I had been in a very, I think, charming way advocating for myself to come back for 10 years. I was like, "Look, is this a TV? I'll drop a TV on my head right now and prove that you can survive!"

I said to my wife, "Why would he say that? Dude's gone on to do other things. Why are you killing my dreams?" Talk about crushing the buzz! But he then later said, "The reason I was saying that was you kept talking about it. We knew that you were in Scream 7, so we wanted you to shush it." At some point, they were going to keep it a surprise until the movie came out, but very early on, somebody found out that I was in the script and leaked it. Then we had to come to the public and tell people.

As grateful as he is to be back, his primary concern is the fans. "I hope the fans are happy, and I hope that people are excited to step back into the world with us," he said, before giving props to the previous creative team whose departure caused a stir among said fandom. "The guys who were doing it before are amazing. [Radio Silence] do incredible films. I thought 5 and 6 were fantastic. Melissa Barrera was great, and Jenna Ortega was great too. The whole cast is great."

But for Lillard, "There's something nice about Kevin coming back." Williamson wrote the screenplays for the original film as well as Scream 2 and Scream 4 before returning as writer and first-time director for Scream 7, and Lillard points to "a different charm between the early films and where the films were going." In his mind, the reboot (or requel) movies "were becoming more violent and more of the time, and that's a big departure from the cat-and-mouse thing that happened in the first couple of movies."

Bidding Scooby-Doo A Fond Farewell While Welcoming Carrie Aboard

While he's back for one of his most iconic franchises, it seems he's ready to say farewell to another. When asked about whether he would be interested in joining the upcoming live-action Scooby-Doo Netflix series, Lillard gave a firm denial. "Those days of playing a wily teenager are well over," he explained. "I will say that I did reach out to them and say, 'Anything I can do to help.'"

Rather than make a cameo or two, Lillard revealed that, "I'd just go help the next Shaggy be incredible." This was said with the warmth of someone who knows a good thing, and he wasn't shy about it either. "That's one of the greatest parts of my life, and that franchise is so important to kids. Shaggy represents the beauty of storytelling to me; a kid being scared and getting over his own fear. The whole show is about friendship."

One friend he counts himself lucky to have in real life is director Mike Flanagan, with whom he recently finished filming the TV adaptation of Stephen King's Carrie. According to Lillard, it's a more faithful interpretation of the novel than the iconic Brian De Palma movie from 1976. "There's this iconic image of her being covered in blood at the prom," he shared reverently, although the movie only covered "a very specific portion" of the dense, rich tapestry of the book.

Mike Flanagan, meanwhile, "pulled out other elements from the book, then took real-life examples of what's happening with bullying in America and applied them to this new adaptation," according to Lillard. "He's literally ripping things from the headlines and applying them to modern day so that people can relate to what Carrie's going through. He then looked at it from three points of view: the parents and how they deal with it, the faculty at the high school, and then the kids."

I think what sets it apart is that Mike is an incredible storyteller. He's so good, and I think he's particularly good at Stephen King. His tempo, the way he approaches the work, and the honesty with which he's building characters are great. It has an incredible cast of young actors. Summer Howell plays Carrie, and she's incredible. Samantha Sloyan plays the mother, which is an iconic part that's a star-making turn for her.

His excitement for the project was palpable as he insisted that "being in Mike Flanagan's world is one of the best things that ever happened in my career." The 8-episode Prime Video series is set to premiere in October 2026, where fans will finally get to see Lillard as Principal Henry Grayle.

Reflecting On Hollywood (While Sipping On A Bloody Mary)

While Ash may have won the Bloody Mary taste test, Lillard won the most heartfelt comment of the day. He even made the host cry — though that may have been the ghost pepper she consumed. "Hollywood used to be run by people who, at their core, were artists," he reflected. "I think that the people making movies back then really wanted to make great movies, and I don't think that's necessarily the case right now. Now, people are trying to make lots of money with movies rather than make really good movies."

Nevertheless, Lillard did not despair, shouting out independent filmmakers and studios like A24 that focus on "director-centric, storytelling-centric films." Furthermore, he sees great forward movement when it comes to the ways of entering the industry. "When I was coming up, you could either be a TV actor, a stage actor, or a film actor. Now, you can do anything at all times." New stars are coming up through various platforms, making for a very interesting playing field. "Lots of people are making lots of content, and I think being an actor and being available for all that gives you more chances to find success."

One young actor's journey is quite personal to him: his own child's. "My middle kid's an actor, and they're coming up through the ranks," he shared. "They just did a part on Carrie, and I'm really excited for the world to see them. I think they're super talented." Lillard revealed that he purposely avoided being a stage parent during filming, and the two didn't even share scenes. "I let them have their moment without me being there, which is really hard."