Courteney Cox in Scream 7
Editor's Note: The following contains spoilers for 'Scream 7'Right now, in cinemas around the world, Scream 7 is dominating the box office. The Kevin Williamson-helmed feature has faced some pushback from critics, but many audiences have been eating it up and leaving absolutely zero crumbs.
For the first time since 2011’s Scream 4, the movie centers around Neve Campbell’s iconic final girl, Sidney Prescott, who finds herself back in harm’s way after a new killer emerges from the shadows. With an eye on Sidney’s family — specifically her teenage daughter Tatum — the killer claims to be none other than Scream’s co-Ghostface killer, Stu Macher . Throughout the film, Sidney and the rest of the primary characters attempt to track down the truth about Stu, who was seemingly killed in the first movie by way of TV to the dome. Those who have seen the latest slasher installment will know that Stu isn’t alive but is instead resurrected thanks to AI. In the 30 years since the franchise-starting movie landed in cinemas, theories have abounded about the possibility that Stu survived, which eventually led to Lillard reprising his role in the seventh movie. According to Scream 7 helmer and universe creator Williamson, he never wanted to bring the character back from the grave, as he recalls in a new interview with Esquire. Revealing a conversation he had with Lillard during the pre-production days of Scream 7, Williamson said he told the Scooby-Doo star, “‘Listen, Stu’s dead. It will make no sense whatsoever if he’s alive. And I do not want to do that to this franchise. I do not want to jump the shark in that big a way. I’ll jump one shark, but I’m not going to jump ten sharks.”’ Related The People's Choice Awards-iversary — The Collider TV Quiz! On this date in 1975, the first-ever People's Choice Awards ceremony was held. Here are some notable PCA television winners from the last 51 years. Posts By Macklen Makhloghi ‘Scream 7’ Filmed Two Different Endings — Including One Where Stu Was Alive Despite going into the latest installment with the understanding that Stu was as dead as dead gets, Williamson revealed that he and the rest of the creative team had their doubts. When talking about the script that brought Lillard back to the fold, Williamson said, “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 he 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.” At the end of the day, it was the test audiences who sealed Stu’s fate and put the final nail in the coffin of the original Ghostface, with Williamson explaining, “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.” Subscribe to the newsletter for deeper Scream 7 insights Looking for behind-the-scenes perspective on Scream 7's choices and the AI resurrection twist? Subscribe to the newsletter for in-depth analysis, filmmaker context, and focused coverage of this film and similar cinema topics. Get Updates By subscribing, you agree to receive newsletter and marketing emails, and accept our Terms of Use and Privacy Policy. You can unsubscribe anytime. Scream 7 is now in theaters. 5 10 Scream 7 Like Follow Followed R Horror Mystery Release Date February 27, 2026 Runtime 114 Minutes Director Kevin Williamson Writers Kevin Williamson, Guy Busick, James Vanderbilt Producers William Sherak, Paul Neinstein Cast See All
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