Ghostface OG Star Matthew Lillard Fears He Could Spoil the Franchise with the Seventh Installment.

The long-awaited horror film Scream 7 is set to arrive in theaters in the coming year, and it is preparing for a massive gathering of familiar faces. This new chapter marks the iconic comeback of Neve Campbell as final girl Sidney Prescott, after sitting out the last entry. She will, as usual, be alongside Courtney Cox as reporter Gail Weathers, but they won't be the only beloved characters returning to the fray.

"Returning to a role you portrayed in your mid-20s when you're 55 was a daunting task that kept me up at night," Lillard reveals.

An Unexpected Return for Fallon Characters

It has been established that a trio of different characters from past films are set to return in this latest sequel, even though meeting their demise in previous installments. The exact mechanism of their return remains a mystery. Audiences should get ready for the reappearance of the endearing and nearly unkillable officer Dewey Riley, the filmmaker and third film killer Roman Bridger, and one half of the first film's killer pair, Stu Macher.

The Weight of Iconic Legacy

For Matthew Lillard, reprising his role in the series for the first occasion since a small cameo is a dream come true, even if he is apprehensive about the public's reaction. The performer clearly remembers the precise instant he received the news from the original writer.

"I remember the conversation. I recall the small talk. I remember him posing the question. That instance is indelibly imprinted on my psyche," he says. "So I'm really proud to be back. I'm thrilled to be back."

Stu Macher has achieved cult status in the years since the 1996 movie was released, which made Lillard feeling quite trepidatious.

"Truthfully, that's a role that is infamous, for better or worse," he explains. "A part that is now represented in every single Ghostface mask that appears every October 31st."

The Anxiety of Disappointing the Fans

Now that filming has wrapped, Lillard is in the same position like the rest of us to see the final product. He admits to feeling immense anxiety about not wanting to be the one who damages the popular franchise.

"The outcome is either a success and people are excited to have you, or it's a miss," Lillard points out. "Going into it, I don't know if the film will gonna work. I don't know if people want to see me. I've certainly seen plenty of people state and say, 'Stu is dead. Why are they going back to this trope?' So the reality is that I feel a lot of pressure to not ruin the franchise. I hope people exiting Scream 7 and saying, 'Well, that sucked, and Matthew Lillard was the cause.'"

Theories and Excitement Abound

While countless longtime fans are eagerly awaiting Stu's reappearance, the central mystery of how he and the others return remains. Perhaps they live rent-free in Sidney's consciousness, like a previous plot device. Alternatively, perhaps they are in some way all alive in a bizarre shared scenario. The chance of a self-referential story, inspired by earlier horror movies, also exists.

Audiences will find out the truth when Scream 7 debuts in theaters.