'Scream' star says return to horror series was a 'risk' he was 'excited to take'

Matthew Lillard found his return as Stu Macher in “Scream 7” to be “a risk [he] was excited to take”.

The 55-year-old actor is reprising his role as one of the Ghostface killers in the upcoming slasher, and with Stu having met his bloody end in the original “Scream,” Lillard is “nervous” for audiences to see how the dead character returns.

“I’m nervous, because at this point in my life, the only thing I can do is sort of ruin how people consider Stu. [Especially] if I come back and I suck or I was lame,” he told People Magazine.

He continued, “I haven’t seen the movie yet. I don’t know if it works, but it’s a risk. And it’s a risk that I was excited to take. At the same time, I’m nervous to see the outcome. I hope people like it.”

Even so, the “Five Nights At Freddy’s” star is confident “Scream 7” will be “fantastic”.

“I’m really excited for people to see it. It’s not gonna ruin the franchise, that’s the good news.”

As well as Lillard’s Stu Macher, “Scream 7” will see the return of Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott, Courteney Cox’s Gale Weathers, Scott Foley’s Roman Bridger and David Arquette’s Dewey Riley.

“Scream 7” will hit screens in February 2026 - the 30th anniversary of the first Scream movie - though Lillard and his co-stars don’t have any big plans to celebrate the milestone.

“It’s not something for us to get together and crack open a bottle of champagne or something,” he said. “It’s part of our legacy. It’s part of who we are.”

Reflecting on making the original Scream, Lillard said his experience on set was the closest he ever had to being in college.

“While I love and adore it, it’s not like I’m going to all of a sudden do something different other than tip my hat and be grateful for what it’s meant to me across my career.”

In “Scream 7,” Sidney Prescott (Campbell), now juggling life as a wife and mother, is pulled back into terror when Ghostface reemerges to haunt her family - forcing her to reconcile her past trauma with protecting those she loves.

The horror flick also stars Joel McHale, Mckenna Grace, Anna Camp, Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown - who play the Meeks-Martin siblings Chad and Mindy.