Summary
Fans are eagerly anticipatingScream 7, with the return of the iconic final girl, Sidney Prescott. Neve Campbell skippedScream 6due to a pay dispute with Spyglass Media, but the upcoming sequel will shift the focus back onto Sidney.Scream 7could also see the return of other legacy characters, Gale Weathers, Mark Kincaid and Kirby Reed, but nothing has been confirmed yet. However,there is one other legacy character many fans are desperate to return to the franchise: Stu Macher.
Matthew Lillard played Ghostface killer, Stu Macher inthe 1996 originalScream, but he hasn’t featured in any of the sequels, with the suggestion being that his character died after being stabbed and getting an old school 90s television thrown on his head by Sidney at the end of the movie. However,a large section of fans believe Stu Macher could’ve survived the incident, and will be revealed as the franchise mastermind inScream 7.
There Have Been Many Hints In The Previous Two Sequels To Suggest Stu Macher Is Alive
If Stu Macher really is dead, why didScream (2022)andScream 6plant so many clues to suggest otherwise?That is the question on the minds of all the ‘Stu truthers’ out there. To clarify, if a Scream fan is a ‘Stu truther’, they believe the legendary Stu Macher is alive and well in the Scream universe.It’s not so ridiculous to believe that Stu is alive, especially when other characters in the sequels have survived much worse injuries.Chad Meeks-Martin was stabbed multiple times inScream (2022)andScream 6and lived to tell the tale.Dewey Rileyalso survived a bunch of near-death experiences before he was eventually killed off inScream (2022).
There’s an unofficial rule in the Scream franchise:if aGhostface killerhasn’t been shot in the head, they can still be alive.Stu wasn’t shot in the head and his injuries were far less severe than Chad and Dewey’s, and many other survivors in the franchise. A YouTube content creator calledCRAVEN Something Scary, has done a deep dive into the case for Stu Macher’s possible survival inScream, andhis theories do raise a lot of questions that need answering inScream 7.CRAVEN is the leader of the Stu Is Alive Movement, and his passion for the Scream franchise, and the character of Stu in particular, has amassed a large following online. He coined the phrase ‘The Stu Train’ and he is the conductor of it, urging his followers known as ‘The Cravenites’ to join him to ‘Get It Up’ (as Stu says in the originalScreammovie) for Stu Macher’s return inScream 7.
Scream (2022)
THE CLUES FOR STU MACHER’S RETURN
They want to bring Stu into the minds of the viewing audience because they are building towards something bigger.
Even if they had mentioned him as being dead, that still does not mean he’s actually dead. My number one leading theory to Stu returning is that his death was faked.
Scream 6
SCREAM 6 STU’S CLUES
Kevin Williamsoncreated the character of Stu Macher in the 1996 originalScream, and he is set to directScream 7, and there are questions he needs to answer in relation to Stu’s fate. One of two things needs to happen:either bring Stu back as thefranchise mastermindinScream 7or confirm the character is dead.Williamson did appear to confirm Stu’s fate in aninterview with Colliderback in 2022:
No, he’s dead. I think that started because of the college scene, the frat party scene, because he’s standing in the background. He just came to visit set that night.
Williamson is referring to Matthew Lillard’s cameo inScream 2, when he visited the set, and jumped into one particular scene. Even though Williamson claims Stu is dead in this interview, there is a valid argument to suggest he would say this in order to save the surprise of Stu’s potential return in a later sequel. Williamson will need to address Stu’s fate inScream 7for it to be a finality. How many times did Tobey Maguire and Andrew Garfield insist they weren’t returning forSpider-Man: No Way Home?
Matthew Lillard has fueled the speculation that Stu is alive over the years, as he revealed he was initially hired to reprise the role of Stu Macher inScream 3,before the idea was shelved due to similarities with the Columbine Massacre. Stu was reportedly set to lead aCult of Ghostface killersat Woodsboro High School inScream 3, and Lillard claims he was even paid despite not actually returning.Lillard’s FNAF 2 shooting schedulehas also led to speculation that Stu Macher’s return could be in the pipeline.Scream 7’s filmingwas set to begin in October 2024, but it was pushed back to December 2024, which would now fit in with Lillard’s schedule.
If you’re on the Stu train, start packing your carry on bags as the train is getting fueled up and is on stand by as we speak.
