Matthew Lillard says he is ashamed he took Scream 7 after Melissa Barrera was fired — 'I didn't say no'
Matthew Lillard has spoken about his Scream return after Melissa Barrera’s firing — and he isn’t exactly proud of how he handled it.
Right, so Matthew Lillard – yes, that one, legendary for hamming it up as Stu Macher in the original Scream back in 1996 – jumped back into Ghostface territory this year for Scream 7. But, rather unexpectedly, he’s now saying he pretty much regrets it. If that sounds like whiplash, well, you’re not wrong. The reasoning behind it is a bit of a saga on its own.
The Context: Firings and Fallout
Lillard’s about-face comes just after the very public sacking of Melissa Barrera from the franchise last year. She was dropped for her outspoken criticism of Israel during the ongoing conflict with Palestine, posts that the studio clearly didn’t want anywhere near its horror flagship. The fallout around Barrera’s firing was messy to say the least, and it’s continued to ripple through fandom and the people involved in making these films.
This week, in the middle of a Q&A tied to the original Scream’s 30th anniversary screening, Lillard got properly honest – almost confessional – about why he’s got mixed feelings returning to the ghost-masked madness after the controversy. Here’s what he said about the entire situation and Barrera’s ousting:
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Melissa Barrera, who’s a beautiful actor, was fired for what she said after the whole Palestinian, what started happening in Israel. It’s really f—— bull—— and really hard, and she’s on the right side of history.
Lillard linked his own recent involvement to what happened with Barrera, saying he was caught up in the excitement and only later realised the implications. His exact words?
I went back to do Scream, and I got called out. And I’m like, ‘Oh, f—. That’s brutal.’ I feel bad about that. I feel ashamed about that. Because in that moment I was so excited to go back, I didn’t really think about Melissa and that journey. I didn’t say no.
Scream 7: What Actually Happened?
Let’s untangle the plot threads a bit. Lillard played Stu Macher, one of the pair of original Ghostface killers, blasting his way into slasher history in ‘96. Stu was very dead by the end of that film (or so we were told), but for Scream 7, the franchise did what franchises do: brought him back, sort of. In the latest entry, Stu pops up as a digital recreation – not a flesh-and-blood resurrection, but a classic franchise fake-out nonetheless. There’s a rumoured deleted ending where he’d be revealed as genuinely alive and pulling the strings, but that one never made it past the editing bay.
If you missed the headlines, Scream 7 attracted plenty of drama even before Lillard’s regrets went public – from the Barrera firing to arguments over how the franchise should handle politics and power dynamics on and off screen. As for the financial side, turns out audiences couldn’t help themselves: the film managed a proper haul, putting up $214 million globally before shuffling off to streaming.
Scream 7 is the franchise’s box office champ, collecting $214 million worldwide to date.
Despite the backlash (and, frankly, middling reviews), Scream 7 is now officially the most successful in the series. For better or worse, there’s no stopping Ghostface: Scream 8 is now in the works, but nobody’s giving a release date. Expect more internet arguments before it hits screens.