Kevin Williamson has given a definitive answer on what happened to Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) after the first Scream movie, and his answer is actually a big relief. Wes Craven’s Scream arrived to change the horror genre and revitalize the slasher genre, and made way for one of the most popular horror franchises. Even though there have been different characters who have worn the Ghostface mask and costume, the two killers that both viewers and characters still talk about are the original ones: Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and Stu Macher.
Billy Loomis was revealed as the mastermind behind the Woodsboro murders, beginning with that of Sidney’s (Neve Campbell) mother, Maureen, the year before. Stu, on the other hand, was Billy’s accomplice who mostly followed his friend for the thrills, which made him quite scary. At the end of Scream, Billy was shot in the head to make sure he was really dead (per Randy Meeks' rules to survive a horror movie), while Stu was killed by Sidney when she dropped a TV set on his head. However, as Stu wasn’t shot in the head like most Ghostface killers, it has been widely believed that he survived and could return in a future Scream movie, but this is now impossible – and that's great news.
Stu Still Being Alive In Scream Would've Been Too Dumb
Speculation about Stu Macher is, in fact, dead, thus putting an end to all theories and speculation about him somehow surviving being electrocuted. Williamson pointed out Lillard’s cameo appearance in Scream 2 (where he very briefly appears in the background of the frat party) as the possible start of the “Stu is alive” theories, but made it clear that Lillard just came to visit the set that night, so his cameo doesn’t mean anything.
Although the Scream franchise has been mostly successful, it has had its not-so-good moments, and Stu being alive would have definitely fallen into that category. Not only would it have been hard to believe that Stu survived being thrown a TV set on his face, but it would have made little to no sense to reveal his survival over a decade after the first Woodsboro murders. If anything, if Stu had survived, it should have been addressed in earlier movies, but now, Stu being alive would have simply been a dumb idea.
How The Scream Franchise Can Continue Stu's Legacy With Him Dead
Since Scream, Stu and Billy have been mentioned in all movies in the franchise so far, and even if Stu hasn’t appeared again, unlike Billy in Scream 6 and beyond as many hoped, and he might not return as a ghost/hallucination either like Billy did in Scream 2022 as he has no personal connection to any character (and it would be a lazy idea to repeat the Billy/Sam trick with Stu), but his legacy continues simply because there continue to be Ghostface killers, and these could end up mirroring him in different ways, intentionally or not.
