Former Ghostfaces Scott Foley And Matthew Lillard Returning For 'Scream 7'
Oh we’re definitely doing a 30 year anniversary thing aren’t we
Ain’t that a shot in the head? Matthew Lillard, who played Stu Macher, half the original Ghostface team in the 1996 slasher Scream, and Scott Foley, the Felicity star who made his film debut as Roman Bridger in Scream 3, are returning for the now-Paramount/Spyglass franchise’s seventh installment, Scream 7, releasing in theaters on February 26, 2026. The late development of Lillard’s return definitely turns the speculation into whether they’re doing a full Ghostface reunion for the franchise’s 30th anniversary.
Character details were reportedly “under wraps” for Foley, making it unclear as to whether it will be Bridger at all, but that was before Lillard was confirmed. And really, there were various ways it could be, and several how not. Bridger was first introduced as the director of Stab 3: Return to Woodsboro, the third installment of the in-universe film franchise based on the murders perpetrated by Ghostface. He fakes his death, setting a precedent for Bridger to straight up return alive in the new film, in order to throw people off before he reveals himself to be Ghostface. Not only is he Ghostface, but he is Sidney Prescott’s half-brother, born a child of Maureen’s rape by producer John Milton. After Maureen rejected Bridger when he approached her as her son, he fed Billy Loomis about his father’s affair with Maureen, making Roman the instigator of the original Woodsboro murders that Stu and Billy (played by Skeet Ulrich) committed, starting with raping and killing Maureen. Because trilogies needed full circle revelations or something. Stu was already bleeding himself out to death before being struck by a fallen TV. Dewey Riley (David Arquette) shot Bridger in the head.
While it’s very clear what the plan is now, it’s worth pointing out that it’s not all that uncommon for previous Ghostfaces to return, and it’s through all sorts of methods. Lillard actually started it all, as an extra at a party in Scream 2, nearly returned as Stu in Scream 3 until anything resembling the idea was scrapped, and voiced one more partygoer in the fifth film, in a toast for Wes Hicks, one of Sam’s sister’s Tara (played by Jenna Ortega)’s friends, alongside other past actors in the franchise, serving as a tribute to Wes Craven, director of the first four films, who died in 2015. Sam Carpenter, the daughter of Loomis he wasn’t aware of before his death played by Melissa Barrera, had hallucinations of her father, with Ulrich reprising, which both drag her away and pull her toward the killer tendencies she’s terrified of developing, in both films she appears in, the two most recent. The sixth film also brought back Richie Kirsch, played by Jack Quaid, for a video at the centerpiece of the Ghostface shrine his family built in his and the others’ honor, having taken up the mantle together. Any of these were possible methods that they utilize Foley (or Bridger where it applies), but personally I wasn’t ruling out innocent doppelganger jumpscare. Once Lillard was confirmed several hours later, I’m putting money on a series of similar hallucinations, otherwise it’s going to be some other way that doesn’t revive them. Or does?
Scream VI is the only film not to feature Neve Campbell or Sidney Prescott due to a salary dispute, but she’s back now, with her family by her side. Namely her husband, Mark Evans played by Joel McHale and at least one child, played by Isabel May, making it the most family Sidney’s had around since the original film, and that’s when it was just her father, who spent most of it abducted by Billy and Stu. If Bridger is really back, he may face Courteney Cox’s Gale Weathers again. Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding return as Mindy and Chad Meeks-Martin, Randy’s niece and nephew that had become part of Sam and Tara (Jenna Ortega)’s friend group. Celeste O’Connor, Asa Germann, McKenna Grace, Anna Camp and Sam Rechner still don’t have names for their characters revealed, though Camp and Rechner are reportedly playing mother and son. Mark Consuelos, Foley’s recent co-star on Max’s The Girls on the Bus, is also confirmed, reportedly playing Robbie, a news reporter.
Kevin Williamson, who of the original four Wes Craven-directed films only missed out on writing the third, is back to direct but is not writing this film. He replaces the departed Christopher Landon. Guy Busick, who wrote Scream and Scream VI with James Vanderbilt is going solo this time while Vanderbilt is busy with other commitments. Vanderbilt, representing Project X Entertainment with William Sherak and Paul Neinstein are producing with Radio Silence, the directors of the fifth and sixth installments, serving as executive producers. A $900 million franchise, it’s coming off its highest performance yet, with the franchise domestic box office record with more than $108 million and more than $169 million globally.
Foley currently recurs as Dr. Seth McDale, on ABC’s Will Trent, being something of an ABC regular, starring previously on Whiskey Cavalier and as Jake Ballard in six seasons of Scandal. Also known for playing Sean Kelly on Scrubs, his other TV credits include Fox’s The Big Leap, HBO’s True Blood, Grey’s Anatomy, and CBS’s The Unit.
Lillard would go on to be cast as Shaggy Rogers in the Scooby-Doo! franchise’s two theatrical live action movies from 2002 and 2004 with Scream 2 star Sarah Michelle Gellar, before succeeding original voice actor Casey Kasem in the role for all animated non Scoob! productions in 2010. This includes appearances on Mad, Batman: The Brave and the Bold, Supernatural, Teen Titans Go!, and Jellystone! Other live action film roles include She’s All That, its remake He’s All That, Summer Catch, and The Descendants with the biggest of all being his return to horror villainy as William Afton in the Five Nights at Freddy’s movies, the first sequel releasing later this year. On television he’s recurred on Bosch and Twin Peaks: The Return, and main roles on FX’s The Bridge and NBC’s Good Girls. He confirmed the return himself, posting a video to Instagram him writing out one of Stu’s best lines. Mom and dad are gonna be mad alright, mad with excitement.
