Scream OG Star Matthew Lillard Is Anxious He Could Ruin the Franchise with the Seventh Installment.

The long-awaited horror film Scream 7 is set to arrive in theaters next year, and it is preparing for a massive gathering of familiar faces. This latest installment marks the legendary return of Neve Campbell as survivor Sidney Prescott, after sitting out the last entry. She will, as usual, be alongside Courtney Cox as journalist Gail Weathers, but they aren't the only fan-favorite characters making a comeback.

"Returning to a role you played in your twenties when you're in your fifties was a daunting task that kept me up at night," Lillard admits.

An Unexpected Return for Fallon Characters

Reports have confirmed that a trio of distinct characters from past films are slated to reappear in this new outing, even though dying in previous installments. The exact mechanism of their resurrection remains a mystery. Audiences should get ready for the reappearance of the endearing and nearly unkillable cop Dewey Riley, the filmmaker and Scream 3 antagonist Roman Bridger, and one half of the first film's murderous duo, Stu Macher.

The Weight of Iconic Status

For Matthew Lillard, returning to the series for the first occasion since a brief cameo is a dream come true, though he is terrified about the audience response. The performer clearly remembers the precise instant he received the offer from the original writer.

"I remember the conversation. I recall the pleasantries. I recall him posing the question. That instance is indelibly imprinted on my mind," he says. "Therefore I'm incredibly honored to be back. I'm really excited to be back."

Stu Macher has achieved iconic status in the years since the original film premiered, which left Lillard feeling quite nervous.

"Truthfully, that's a role that is infamous, like it or not," he explains. "A part that is now embodied in each and every Ghostface mask that appears every Halloween."

The Fear of Letting Down the Fans

Now that production has wrapped, Lillard is waiting as everyone else to see the finished film. He admits to feeling immense anxiety about hoping not to be the one who ruins the popular series.

"The outcome is either a success and people are excited to have you, or it's a fail," Lillard observes. "Going into it, I have no idea if the film will be successful. I am unsure if people are eager to see me. I've definitely seen enough people state and say, 'Stu is dead. Why are they returning to this trope?' So the truth is that I feel a lot of responsibility to not mess up the franchise. I don't want people leaving Scream 7 and thinking, 'Well, that was terrible, and Matthew Lillard was the cause.'"

Theories and Anticipation Abound

While countless longtime fans are excited for Stu's reappearance, the big question of how he and the others return remains. Perhaps they exist rent-free in Sidney's consciousness, similar to a previous plot device. Or, perhaps they are in some way all alive in a strange shared situation. The possibility of a meta-horror story, inspired by classic horror movies, also exists.

Moviegoers will find out the truth when Scream 7 arrives in theaters.