Matthew Lillard And Scott Foley Are Returning For ‘Scream 7’
When franchise star Melissa Barrera was fired over pro-Palestine social media posts, we weren’t sure how any future Scream sequels could even happen. Slowly, Scream 7 has begun taking shape and winning back the confidence of fans. This began with hiring original Scream (1996) writer Kevin Williamson to direct and convincing Neve Campbell to return. Now, more casting news has the fandom excited.
Matthew Lillard and Scott Foley are officially returning to the franchise. Lillard portrayed Stu Macher in Scream (1996) and Foley played Roman Bridger in Scream 3 (2000). Both actors donned the Ghostface mask, with Roman having the highest kill count of any Ghostface. Lillard shared his excitement on social media by filming himself writing one of his many iconic lines from Scream (1996):
Lillard has long been rumored to return. Kevin Williamson’s original idea for Scream 3 was to have Stu Macher orchestrate the killings and Lillard was even contracted to return. The cold open would have been Sidney and a friend being attacked in her house. Sidney outsmarts the killer and ends up killing him. When he is unmasked, “Ghostface” is a complete stranger, a random fan of her life story. Lillard would have been the main killer, his character having miraculously survived the events of Scream. However, after the Columbine High School massacre, the studio wanted to steer the franchise away from a school setting.
Foley has not been rumored to return, but the casting of both actors could mean that we’ll get a peek into the events that led up to the original Scream. In Scream 3 Roman Bridger says that he convinced Billy and Stu to murder their classmates. Rather than both characters surviving (unlikely) their casting could mean we see how the very first Ghostface killings started.
Scream 7 has already begun filming and is currently scheduled to be released on February 27, 2026.
