Scream 7 Deleted Scene Resurrected This Beloved Ghostface

Paramount Pictures

Major spoilers ahead for "Scream 7."

One of the big hooks for "Scream 7" heading into its release was that it reportedly had Matthew Lillard returning as Stu Macher. One of the original two Ghostface killers, Stu was at the center of the infamous Woodsboro massacre alongside Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) but seemingly died near the end of 1996's "Scream." Well, "Scream 7" ultimately confirms that he's still dead, but there was a version of the sequel that actually brought him back for real.

During a spoiler-filled chat with Esquire, writer/director Kevin Williamson discussed all the freaky cameos by dead characters in "Scream 7," which are generated by the real killers using AI. Stu's likeness is the main one the villains use to mess with franchise icon Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), but Williamson admitted he always knew it was going to be tricky playing with audience expectations like that:

"We wanted to have our cake and eat it too. I wish I could take credit for that. But Guy Busick had that in his script. He wrote all the AI stuff. The first time I read it I was like, 'How is this going to work? How is [Stu] going to be alive? Furthermore, if it is AI, will part of the audience be disappointed that he's not real?' We were playing that game. And I'd be lying if I said we didn't shoot it both ways."

In the end, though, "Scream 7" seals Sidney's fate while also making it crystal clear that Stu is truly dead. However, as Williamson revealed, there was an abandoned scene that revealed he was actually alive:

"We shot a little coda at the end that we had in our back pocket. But oddly enough, the decision was that the audience wanted him dead."

Dimension Films

While Kevin Williamson didn't go into the full details, it sounds like he shot some sort of post-credits scene that would've revealed Stud really is alive. That means the killers would have used the AI Stu, but that the real Stu could have been out there, possibly for use down the line. That, presumably, would've then come into play in "Scream 8," which is all but guaranteed now that "Scream 7" has done boffo business at the box office.

Nevertheless, Williamson emphasized that test audiences didn't like the version of the film that confirmed Stu was secretly alive. "It makes more sense. It's more real. If he's alive, that's a big stretch," he added. "We live in a world now where with fake AI, we know that's possible."

Stu is among the best Ghostface killers in the history of the "Scream" films. People absolutely love him. While Billy Loomis for sure died, only to be brought back as something of a specter in "Scream" (2022) and "Scream VI," Stu's fate was slightly more ambiguous. Yes, a TV fell on his head, but was he truly dead? The latest movie plays with that, making it clear that conspiracy theories have developed around Stu's fate.

Part of what makes this franchise unique amongst slasher properties is that Ghostface is someone new under the mask every time, so it never has to explain how they're back. In that regard, revealing that Stu has somehow returned would, as Williamson noted, would be a big stretch. Then again, who knows? Stranger things have happened. For the time being, though, Stu is firmly dead. Sorry, Matthew Lillard fans.

"Scream 7" is in theaters now.