Surprise, Matthew Lillard!
And the actor, 55, was indeed shocked to find out he would be included in “Scream 7,” nearly 30 years after audiences were first introduced to his character in the 1996 original.
In “Scream,” Lillard portrayed Stu Macher, one of two killers alongside his best friend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich).
“I was on a walk. I was on a business call with my company, Find Familiar Spirits,” he recounted to Entertainment Weekly. “I put them on hold because Kevin Williamson called me in the middle of the day.”
The filmmaker, 60, wrote “Scream,” its 1997 sequel, “Scream 2 and “Scream 4” (2011).
“Scream 7” marks Williamson’s first time directing, following the death of original director Wes Craven in 2015.
“I was like, ‘That’s really weird,’” Lillard continued. “I had just seen him three weeks earlier at a game night at Mike Flanagan’s house. So the moment is immortalized in my mind. I picked up the phone and we had small talk for five minutes, and it was like, ‘Do you want to come back?’ I literally was like, ‘Oh my!’ I, like, screamed.”
However, after Williamson previously denied fan theories that Stu was alive, the “Five Nights at Freddy’s” actor thought returning was out of the question.
“When he asked me, I was like, ‘I thought you didn’t want me in the film,’” Lillard recalled. “He’s like, ‘I wanted you to shut up because I want you in the film.’”
Since then, the “Scooby-Doo” star has kept tight-lipped about his character’s return.
“I will tell you, if I have a secret, I am 90 percent gonna tell someone that I have a secret,” Lillard admitted. “And the weird thing is, I have not told a single soul about how or why Stu comes back.”
But he can’t wait for fans to see this next chapter.
“It’s testing through the roof,” Lillard gushed. “I think the last regime of actors and creatives were incredible. I think they did a great job. I think the movie was in great hands. I think Kevin’s just taken it back in a way towards the original roots. I think fans are gonna be really happy.”
In October, the trailer for “Scream 7” dropped, and the last moment included the voice of Stu saying: “This is gonna be fun!”
Lillard told EW that he “had no idea” that would be used.
“The only power of anything in this business is saying yes or no, and once you say yes, you have zero control,” he noted.
Also returning is Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott and Courteney Cox’s Gale Weathers.
Despite their character’s being killed off, David Arquette’s Dewey Riley and Scott Foley’s Roman Bridger, are also back.
Ulrich, 55, meanwhile, confirmed to The Post that he was supposed to be in “Scream 7,” until Melissa Barrera was fired after posting about the Israel-Hamas war.
The actress, 35, played Billy’s daughter, Sam Carpenter.
Ulrich returned in the fifth and sixth movie.
“I’m not involved. I’m really excited though,” he said. “I’m excited for Kevin Williamson to take the helm and to see what the mastermind of it all comes up with. I have no clue.”
“I used to know,” Ulrich continued, “because part of coming back for five and six was being a part of seven. It was a three-picture arc for Billy Loomis, or the imagination of Billy Loomis in Melissa Barrera’s character’s head. But when all that went down with her, obviously you lose her and you lose what’s in her head.”
Ulrich said he also “used to know” the full plot of “Scream 7” and it “was really, really interesting.” But now, he’s in the dark.
“I don’t know how Matt’s back,” Ulrich confessed. “I have no idea, which I’m kind of excited for, to see it and not know.”
In June, Williamson told The Post about returning: “Oh, it’s been awesome. I’ve always been on the fringes of the last few ‘Scream’ movies, as sort of the granddaddy of the franchise.”
“Scream 7” hits theaters in February 2026.
