Ghostface OG Star the Actor Fears He Could Spoil the Series with the Seventh Installment.

The long-awaited horror film Scream 7 is scheduled to debut in theaters in the coming year, and it is preparing for a massive gathering of familiar faces. This latest installment signals the legendary return of Neve Campbell as final girl Sidney Prescott, following her absence from 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.

"Coming back to a role you portrayed in your twenties when you're 55 was a daunting task that gave me sleepless nights," Lillard reveals.

A Triumphant Return for Fallen Characters

It has been established that a trio of different characters from past films are slated to reappear in this new outing, even though meeting their demise in prior movies. The exact mechanism of their return is still unclear. Audiences should get ready for the reappearance of the beloved and nearly unkillable officer Dewey Riley, the director and third film killer Roman Bridger, and a member of the first film's killer pair, Stu Macher.

The Pressure of Legendary Status

For Matthew Lillard, reprising his role in the franchise for the first time since a brief appearance is a dream come true, though he is apprehensive about the audience response. The performer clearly remembers the precise instant he received the news from the series creator.

"I remember the phone call. I remember the small talk. I remember him asking. That moment is permanently etched on my psyche," he states. "So I'm really proud to be back. I'm thrilled to be back."

Stu Macher has achieved iconic status in the decades since the original film premiered, which made Lillard feeling very trepidatious.

"The reality is, that's a part that lives in infamy, for better or worse," he notes. "A part that is now represented in each and every Scream mask that appears every Halloween."

The Anxiety of Disappointing the Fandom

Now that filming has concluded, Lillard is waiting like the rest of us to see the final product. He confesses to feeling immense pressure about not wanting to be the one who damages the popular series.

"It's either a success and people are excited to have you, or it's a miss," Lillard points out. "At the start, I have no idea if the movie's gonna work. I don't know if people want to see me. I've definitely seen enough people come out and say, 'Stu is dead. Why are they returning to this trope?' So the truth is that I feel a lot of pressure to not mess up the series. I don't want people leaving Scream 7 and saying, 'Well, that sucked, and Matthew Lillard was the reason.'"

Theories and Excitement Run High

While many longtime fans are excited for Stu's return, the big question of how he and the others come back remains. Maybe they exist as manifestations in Sidney's consciousness, similar to a previous plot device. Alternatively, perhaps they are in some way still living in a bizarre communal scenario. The possibility of a meta-horror narrative, inspired by earlier genre films, also is on the table.

Moviegoers will discover the truth when Scream 7 arrives in theaters.