Matthew Lillard Says Stu Survived And Was Originally The Killer In Scream 3

24 November 2023, 17:51 | Updated: 31 August 2024, 12:49

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By Sam Prance

One of the most popular Scream theories is that Stu survived the first movie.

Matthew Lillard has addressed theories that Stu is still alive in the Scream universe and was originally the killer in Scream 3.

Ever since the first Scream movie came out in 1996, fans have long believed that Stu survived. Even though Sidney drops a TV on Stu's head, we never actually see him die. There have also been multiple rumours that Matthew Lillard was meant to return as Stu in Scream 3 and that the original script was scrapped after the 1999 Columbine High School massacre.

Now, Matthew has said that Stu was supposed to have survived and revealed what the original plans were for his return in Scream 3.

Read more: Matthew Lillard thought his franchise career was "dead" before Five Nights At Freddy's success

Did Stu die in Scream?

Matthew Lillard confirms Stu is still alive and was originally the killer in Scream 3. Picture: Steve Granitz/WireImage, Dimension Films

When asked if Stu is still alive in a Vulture interview, Matthew said: "I’m the grandfather of Stu truthers." He then let slip that the Scream 3 rumours are actually true. He said: "I was supposed do Scream 3. I got paid for 3. Not really well, but I ended up getting paid for something I didn’t do because the idea was that I’d be running high-school killers from jail."

On the Bob Benedick podcast, Matthew also said: "From jail, I was kind of masterminding this attack against Sidney and so three weeks before we were supposed to start shooting, Columbine High School broke out, and they changed everything. They kind of took the script and threw it to the side. They bought me out and I never did the third one."

Scream 3 cast and crew members have also previously revealed that the film was originally set at Woodsboro high school but was moved to a film set in LA to avoid any similarities with the Columbine High School shooting.

So there you have it: Stu was originally meant to survive that brutal death in the original Scream... But whether or not he's still alive is a whole other conversation.

Matthew Lillard confirms Stu is still alive and was originally the killer in Scream 3 (2). Picture: Everett Collection Inc / Alamy Stock Photo

In 2022, eagle-eyed fans also spotted a Stu easter egg in Scream 5 that alludes to him still being alive. When Richie is watching a Stab video on YouTube, you can see a suggested video titled: "Did the real-life Stu Macher survive?"

Scream 6 also acknowledged the real-world fan theory with a conversation between Mindy and Kirby.

As to whether or not he would come back as Stu in a future Scream movie, Matthew said: "Look, it’s a horror movie! Crazy things happen all the time. Have you seen Friday the 13th? Jason comes back - like Stu still could come back. He doesn’t bleed out! Somebody would’ve come along and cauterized the wound. There’s still hope for Stu."

However, despite all of that, Scream writer Kevin Williamson spoke to Collider in 2022 and confirmed that Stu is dead, for real. Kevin is also returning to the franchise to direct Scream 7 so any hopes that Stu might pop back up again might be officially over...