The location change of Scream 2022, reaching amazing box office heights.
Scream 6 was greenlit only three weeks after Scream 2022's release due to the latter's impressive reception with critics and audiences alike. Soon after, Scream 6 announced its cast of returning characters, with Gale Weathers (Courtney Cox) and Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere) set to reprise their roles along with several Scream 2022 cast ; however, Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) remains unconfirmed. Along with these casting announcements came news that Scream 6 will be filmed in Montreal, Canada, marking Scream 6 as the first in the franchise filmed outside of the United States, a change that perfectly sets up a legacy character return.
Audiences have been wanting Stu Macher to return for a long time, and many thought the villain would finally reappear in the latest Scream movie. While they were disappointed, there may be a very logical reason for Stu's absence in Scream 2022. Stu is part of Woodsboro's legacy, both because he is a town local but also because he is one of the original Ghostface killers. However, Stu wouldn't be able to exact his revenge on Sidney and the others in Woodsboro because part of what makes the killers in Scream so effective is their ability to remove the costume and blend in, something he can no longer do with his infamy. Examples of how the events of the first Scream film shook the town are all around, from rule-obsessed, Randy Meeks' home memorial to Tatum Riley's ashes in Dewey's (David Arquette) trailer. It's clear the town hasn't forgotten the events of the original killing-spree. Stu would be instantly recognized by the people of Woodsboro and also by fans of the in-universe Stab movies, making it incredibly hard to get very far with his killing spree.
There are many things within the known Scream canon that suggest Stu is alive, such as him almost returning to the role in Matthew Lillard's Stu into the world of Scream once more, wiser, fitter, and more experienced, ready to take on Sidney Prescott one last time in a place where he can truly reinvent himself.
Changing location for Scream 6 not only makes sense for the franchise, which is always reinventing itself, but also for the characters of the series who have suffered so much trauma in Woodsboro. In Scream 2022, Gale Weathers came back to Woodsboro primarily to make sure Dewey was safe, while Sidney only came back because she wanted to end the spree for the sake of Dewey and the safety of her children. Now that Dewey is dead, neither has a logical reason to return. This applies to Scream 4. It also applies to the survivors of Scream 2022, who have shown that they are self-aware horror survivors who are more than likely going to leave Woodsboro once they heal. Stu's only chance at revenge in the Scream 6 is to somehow lure the cast of the Scream franchise into an unknown area where he wouldn't be recognized - something impossible in Woodsboro - to finally end the over-arching story of the Scream franchise.
