(Warning: Spoilers for Scream VI follow.)
Scream VI answered the dreams of many of the franchise’s loyal fans, bringing back a legacy character many had once believed to be dead—but it wasn’t Stu Macher.
Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere), whose fate was left ambiguous in the post-Scream 4 purgatory and was confirmed alive in a Scream (2022) Easter egg, made her triumphant return in the slasher series’ latest sequel. And with her came official confirmation Stu is dead—at least, for now.
So, it’s time we lay this theory to rest. Sorry to the Stu truthers (Stu-Anon?), but he’s dead.
Stu, the secondary killer in the original Scream, is a widely beloved character due to Matthew Lillard’s zany portrayal and his status as an OG killer. Although he is electrocuted by a TV after several stabs in the finale, some fans have held out hope for years he’ll make a triumphant return.
That’s buoyed by an early idea for Scream 3 that never came to fruition. Screenwriter Kevin Williamson had toyed with the idea of bringing Stu back for the third film as the jailed mastermind behind a cult of killers targeting Sidney for the franchise’s then-finale.
However, Williamson never returned for the third, which went in an entirely different direction, with no hints at Stu’s survival. In fact, none of the five movies preceding Scream VI have even hinted at Stu being alive. The uber-meta franchise, which calls back to the original film often, had never once, for even a second, given rise to the idea that Stu’s alive.
Finally, Scream VI threw a bone to the Stu truthers—also delivering a death-blow to the theory.
Kirby, now an FBI agent for some reason, specifically mentions the TV that “killed” Stu Macher. What’s more, a whiteboard showing the five massacres preceding the latest film shows he died in 1996.
But not everyone’s convinced, in real life and in the movie. Mindy Miller-Meeks (Jasmin Savoy Brown), a member of the film’s “Core Four” and a self-proclaimed horror aficionado, hits back at Kirby with a tongue in cheek reference: “If you believe he’s dead...”
So, here’s where we need to get into the nitty gritty. The film has now, without a shadow of a doubt, confirmed that Stu is believed to be dead in-universe. That means the only way he could be alive is to have faked his death and be hidden away.
Now, Scream certainly has soap opera sensibilities, but come on. The twist that Sam is Billy Loomis’ daughter in Scream (2022) was already ham-fisted, yet plausible enough. In-universe, it has been more than 25 years since Stu died. What could he possibly be up to hiding out there?
Scream 3 was released in 2000—Stu’s death never questioned within the film—and with it should’ve died any last hope he’d be brought back from the dead.
Somehow, amid all the theories that hinge on Williamson’s original idea, Stu truthers neglect to admit Williamson himself recently confirmed he’s dead, too.
“No, he’s dead,” Williamson said in a December 2022 interview with Collider.
So, let’s clear something up for the confused: Dead people aren’t alive. They are dead.
But, if that’s not enough for you all, let’s ask another OG, the woman who portrays the franchise’s fearless journalist Gale Weathers, Courteney Cox. In an interview with Fandango this week, Cox, alongside franchise stars Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, is asked about the Stu theory.
“They think that Stu’s still alive,” Ortega explains to Cox of the passionate theorists. Confused, horrified even, and just a smidge annoyed, Cox shakes her head and says “Who does?” “People, the internet,” Ortega replies.
“Oh, I don’t think so,” Cox says, dismissing the theory as swiftly as she possibly can. Ortega also remarks that she doesn’t like the theory, twisting the knife in the broken hearts of Stu truthers.
In all honesty, what does a Stu return bring anyway? Not only does it invalidate the franchise’s last remnant of realism, it also is just a nothingburger.
This isn’t Billy Loomis or Jill Roberts—Stu’s impact doesn’t extend beyond the first Scream. He’s the comic-relief killer whose motive is “peer pressure.” Now don’t get me wrong, he’s a great character and helps elevate the original to the classic it is. But, let’s be real. Stu Macher is no mastermind.
We can’t keep hanging on the original idea for Scream 3. After all, an original idea for Scream 5—back when there was the intention of following Scream 4 with direct sequels—involved Jill surviving and attending college alongside Kirby, Williamson has confirmed, but that doesn’t change the fact Jill was shot through the heart after she was electrocuted.
Trust me, I almost wish it did. Time to be petty, but if we’re going to flirt with bringing back a killer, it should be Jill. She’s the only Ghostface who got within an inch of succeeding with her plan, and her motive has aged like wine in the social media era. Also, unlike Stu, she had a plan to begin with.
Some might say it’s misogynistic to go to bat for Stu while leaving influential girlboss Jill out to die. I am some—I’ll say it!
But, as a fan of logic and reason—and the franchise itself—I humbly accept that Jill is dead and bringing her back would be too ridiculous to ever be satisfying. The same goes for quite literally every single killer in the franchise.
I mean, one of the Scream VI killers was killed by that same TV that killed Stu. Some would take that as an aggressive hint that it’s curtains for Stu.
So, Stu-Anon, it’s back to the drawing board for you all.
If Stu somehow makes a return in Scream VII (Scream 7? 7cream?) I will not apologize for this take, as that would simply be franchise assassination. You’ll have won—but at what cost?
Until that happens, I’m here to continue crushing conspiracy theorists' dreams, and once again, reminding you to dream harder. Convince me Jill’s alive. Maybe Mrs. Loomis miraculously survived that bullet to the head. It’s been more than 20 years, time to freshen up that fan fiction material.
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