Original Scream writer Kevin Williamson says there's no way Matthew Lillard's character survived the events of the film. In the first Scream movie, released in 1996, Lillard's Stu Macher and Skeet Ulrich's Billy Loomis were revealed to be the masterminds behind the Ghostface killings. However, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) thwarts their plans by killing them both, dropping a television onto Stu's head, and putting a bullet in Billy's brain.
It seemed pretty clear that both Ghostface killers were dead when the credits rolled, but in the years since, fan theories have emerged that Stu actually survived the television electrocution. Some fans point to Lillard's background cameo appearance, seemingly as a different character, as a piece of evidence. More recently, Lillard appeared in the fifth Scream movie released earlier this year as a masked partygoer, marking another secret cameo in the series.
Lillard also fueled the flames of the theory that Stu's still alive when he said the original plan for Scream 3 was for him to return, having orchestrated the newest set of murders in Woodsboro from his prison cell. According to Lillard, that whole plan was scrapped because of the Columbine High School massacre, which happened soon after. But having Stu nearly return in Scream 3 seemingly makes it possible he could still show up in another movie. In an interview with Vulture earlier this year, Lillard said he's been a "Stu truther" from the start, always open to returning if he gets the opportunity. As he told the outlet about the "Stu is still alive" rumors:
"I’m the grandfather of Stu truthers. 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."
Don't Count on Stu Making His Grand Return in Scream VI
Because fans continue to theorize that Stu's return is imminent in the Scream franchise, screenwriter Kevin Williamson was asked about the rumors in an interview with Collider. Despite Lillard's optimism that Stu is still breathing in the Scream universe, Williamson has a different viewpoint, feeling much more confident that the original Ghostface killer is dead. As he tells Collider:
“No, he’s dead. I think that started because of the college scene, the frat party scene because he’s standing in the background. He just came to visit set that night.”
That's probably not the answer that "Stu truthers" were looking for, but the idea of Stu returning isn't impossible, even if it's unlikely. The franchise is now under the creative guidance of co-writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick, and directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. Williamson is still on board as an executive producer for Scream VI, but it's not outside the realm of possibility for the franchise's new creative team to bring back another major character from the past, and the films have never explicitly stated that Stu is dead.
Scream VI will be released on March 10, 2023.