Scream Original Star the Actor Is Anxious He Could Spoil the Franchise 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 new chapter marks the legendary comeback of Neve Campbell as final girl Sidney Prescott, after sitting out the last entry. She will, per tradition, be alongside Courtney Cox as journalist Gail Weathers, but they won't be the only beloved characters returning to the fray.

"Returning to a role you played in your twenties when you're in your fifties was a daunting task that gave me sleepless nights," Lillard reveals.

An Unexpected Return for Fallen Favorites

Reports have confirmed that three different characters from earlier films are slated to reappear in this latest sequel, despite dying in previous installments. The exact mechanism of their resurrection remains a mystery. Fans should prepare for the reappearance of the beloved and nearly unkillable cop Dewey Riley, the filmmaker and third film killer Roman Bridger, and a member of the first film's killer pair, Stu Macher.

The Weight of Legendary Status

For Matthew Lillard, returning to the franchise for the first occasion since a small cameo is a dream come true, even if he is terrified about the public's reaction. The actor clearly remembers the precise instant he got the news from the original writer.

"I recall the phone call. I remember the pleasantries. I recall him asking. That instance is indelibly imprinted on my mind," he states. "So I'm incredibly honored to be back. I'm thrilled to be back."

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

"Truthfully, that's a role that is infamous, like it or not," he notes. "A part that is now represented in every single Ghostface mask that appears every October 31st."

The Anxiety of Letting Down the Fans

Now that production has wrapped, Lillard is in the same position like the rest of us to see the finished film. He confesses to feeling immense anxiety about hoping not to be the one who damages the beloved franchise.

"The outcome is either a hit and people are thrilled to have you, or it's a miss," Lillard points out. "At the start, I don't know if the movie's gonna work. I am unsure if people want to see me. I've definitely seen plenty of people come out and say, 'Stu is dead. Why are they going back to this idea?' So the reality is that I feel a lot of pressure to not ruin the series. I don't want people exiting Scream 7 and thinking, 'Well, that was terrible, and Matthew Lillard was the reason.'"

Theories and Excitement Run High

While countless longtime fans are eagerly awaiting Stu's reappearance, the big question of how he and the others come back persists. Perhaps they exist rent-free in Sidney's mind, similar to a previous plot device. Alternatively, perhaps they are in some way all alive in a strange communal scenario. The possibility of a self-referential story, inspired by earlier genre films, also is on the table.

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