How I would bring back Stu Macher in Scream 7

In case you didn’t already know, I am extremely excited about the new Scream movie. I haven’t been this genuinely excited about a movie in a very long time.  I’m partially excited because of Neve Campbell’s return to the franchise after an absence from Scream 6 because of a pay dispute. Basically Neve Campbell felt that after almost three decades as lead character, Sidney Prescott, she deserved to be paid more money given that she had carried the franchise. She felt as though if she had been a man she would have been paid more and that’s why she wasn’t in Scream 6. Fortunately for us Paramount agreed to pay her what she is worth and so we’ll see her return in Scream 7, which is out in cinemas in less than two weeks.

The other big news is that Matthew Lillard who played Stu Macher in the very first Scream movie will reprise his role and there are many theories online about exactly how he’ll return. In today’s podcast I’ll explore those theories and then offer my own opinions on how I would like to see him return before ending on how Randy, who was killed in the second Scream movie could return in Scream 8, which based on what I’ve seen, is in the works.

The most popular theory I’ve read about Stu’s return is that he comes back as AI. The basic gist is that the actual killer in Scream 7 is using AI to replicate Stu’s voice. I’m not sure how I feel about this option being how he returns. The Scream franchise has always been meta and offered some kind of commentary on the real world so in many ways this would support that, but at the same time, AI is everywhere and it doesn’t explain some of the dialogue that we’ve seen so far in the movie trailer. The dialogue I’m referring to is the line, “I’ve been waiting a long time for this” and “this town reminds me of where we grew up”. That could just be Ghostface trying to mess with Sidney though so I’m not entirely opposed to this being the way he’s brought back.

Another theory doing the rounds is that he’ll just be a vision like how the writers brought back Skeet Ulrich as Billy Loomis. It’s not an entirely awful way to bring him back but my issue with this is that it’s a repeat of a previous storyline and I’d rather have something new than that. A lot of other fans are saying the same thing.

The next theory is that Stu Macher is alive and that he’s actually been in a mental asylum the last 30 years. The theory goes that his family is wealthy and so they could afford to pay to keep him in hiding for the last 30 years. I like this theory because it’s reminiscent of other horror movies like Nightmare on Elm Street, Halloween and Friday the 13th because it plays into the revenge plot.

My only issue with that is that the revenge thing has been done several times before, and while it’s a given that the motive behind the latest killing spree is revenge, it’s been done before.

My favourite theory that I’ve read online so far and the one that I’m hoping for is Stu’s redemption. The theory goes that Stu was just peer pressured into the killings in the original Scream movie and that he’s been in a mental institution the last 30 years. Basically the way I see this is that he is also a target and he’s been forced out of hiding. Sidney Prescott would be forced to work with him and Gale Weathers to overthrow Ghostface. I like this theory because it’s new and original. It would also provide a new point of conflict where Sidney has to fight her demons, literally and metaphorically to reach the resolution.

The other great thing about this theory is that it opens up the door for Matthew Lillard who is such a great actor to return to future Scream movies.

Whatever the case is, the latest installment in the Scream franchise is, in Stu Macher’s own words, “going to be fun”.

A brief recap of the Scream franchise and my hopes for Scream 7

 I am a horror movie fan from way back. I remember being at university and I’d rent horror movies from the video store, back when video stores were still around. I watched some b-grade horror movies like Bloody Murder (which I’m sure none of you have heard of but basically it’s a slasher flick that follows some teens as they camp at a cabin in the woods). It follows the standard horror movie formula.  A couple of other favourites of mine are the Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Nightmare on Elm Street and psychological thrillers like Taboo. When I’d watch horror movies while I was at uni I was often way too scared to walk home or go out in case there was some serial killer lurking somewhere and ready to pounce. 

You’d have to have been living under a rock the last few months to not realise that Scream 7 is being released later this month on the 27th of February, 2026 (that’s the US date, for international audiences it will be the 28th of February). Neve Campbell is reprising her role as the film’s hero, Sidney Prescott after an absence from Scream VI due to a pay dispute with the film’s producers. That meant that Courteney Cox, as reporter Gale Weathers was left as the only remaining original cast member after David Arquette’s Dewey Riley was killed off in Scream 5.  This excludes Roger L. Jackson who is the voice of Ghostface.

Despite being killed off in earlier movies, Matthew Lillard reprises his role of Stu Macher who was one of the killers in the original Scream movie with Sidney Prescott’s boyfriend Billy Loomis played by Skeet Ulrich. Scott Foley is also back as Roman Bridger from Scream 3.

In anticipation of Scream 7 coming out in a few weeks time I thought I would revisit the first six movies in chronological order.

Let’s start with Scream 1. Scream 1 was first released in 1996 and marked the start of a new generation of iconic horror movies. I won’t go over the plot in great detail because everyone knows the plot. In short, a crazy guy goes around terrorising high school students and then Sidney Prescott (the movie’s hero) kills him and his accomplice. In the first movie the killers were Sidney’s boyfriend, Billy Loomis and his friend Stu Macher. 

One of my favourite things about the movie is the character Randy Meeks played by Jamie Kennedy. He was a film geek who worked at the local video store and knew everything there was to know about films, including the rules to survive a horror movie. I also really liked Rose McGowan’s performance as Tatum Riley, Sidney’s best friend and Dewey’s sister. Unfortunately she was killed off in the movie like Drew Barrymore’s Casey Becker, both of whom did an excellent job in their roles.

Scream 2 was the next installment and was released a year later in 1997. The film starts with two film attendees, Maureen Evans and Phil Stevens being killed at the premiere of Stab 2, which was based on the Woodsboro killings (the town where all the killings take place) and it eventuates in more characters being killed off including fan favourite Randy Meeks. Randy is killed about midway through the movie when he taunts Ghostface, later revealed at Billy Loomis’s mum, Nancy. That was the film’s biggest loss. Jamie Kennedy brought a comedic tone to the role that was much needed and in many ways his character bridged the gap between the audience and the film’s universe.

Scream 3 is the weakest of the original trilogy and centres around the cast of Stab 3. Each of them gradually gets killed off by the killer, later revealed as director Roman Bridger who was the product of an affair Sidney Prescott’s mother, Maureen Prescott had when she was working as an actor well before Sidney was born. One of the best parts of the movie though is when Randy Meeks made a video appearance. Before he had been killed in Scream 2 he had made a video that he wanted people to watch if he didn’t make it. The video contained the rules of a horror trilogy and what each of the characters should do to survive. The movie was weak because the plot was very slow moving and there wasn’t as much anticipation as the first two movies had. This was partially because the film was made in 2000, just one year after the Columbine High School massacre.

The next instalment, Scream 4 wasn’t until 2011 when Wes Craven and Kevin Williamson decided to revive the franchise. It was one of the weakest movies which isn’t surprising given how long it had been since the last Scream movie was released. The plot centred around the killer wanting to re-enact the Woodsboro killings and the Stab franchise. Only the opening sequence was surprising. Unlike the other movies produced so far, Scream 4’s killers, Jill Roberts (Sidney’s cousin) and Charlie Walker had the weakest motives and the story wasn’t as well developed as with the previous movies. It was still satisfying seeing Sidney, Gale and Dewey beat the killers at the end of the film.

Scream five was released after another long break. It was released in 2022 and was titled Scream, basically setting it up to be a reboot of the original series. Original characters, Sidney, Gale and Dewey all returned to solve the mystery of who Ghostface was in this installment.  New cast members included Jenna Ortega as Tara Carpenter and Melissa Barrera as Sam Carpenter. Skeet Ulrich reprised his role of Billy Loomis appearing in a flashback and Marley Shelton came back again as Judy Hicks. Original Scream character, Randy Meeks’ family was further expanded with the addition of Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin and Mason Gooding as her twin, Chad Meeks-Martin.

Scream 5 simply titled Scream continues the story in Woodsboro with Gale, Sidney and Dewey returning. Unfortunately Dewey is killed off, as is Sheriff Judy Hicks who debuted in Scream 4, and her son, Wes Hicks, named in honour of franchise creator Wes Craven. Several new characters are introduced indicating that the purpose of this movie is to restart the franchise with new leads. The new characters are the Carpenter sisters, Tara and Sam played by Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega respectively. Sam is revealed to be the illegitimate child of one of the original killers, Billy Loomis. Other new characters include Randy Meeks’ niece and nephew, twins Chad Meeks-Martin and Mindy Meeks-Martin who are portrayed by Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown. Other new characters are Richie Kirsch played by Jack Quaid and Amber Freeman played by Mikey Madison, both of whom are the new movie’s killers. Their motives are similar to others that have gone before them, they want to make a requel of the in-universe franchise, Stab. For those not familiar with the term, a requel introduces new characters while also starring legacy characters. In this case, Sidney Prescott and Gale Weathers are the legacy characters. Some argue that a requel is a lazy reboot. I disagree with this however and would argue that complete reboots are never as good as the original. Just look at the American Pie spin offs. While they were in the same universe they didn’t follow the original timeline of the first three movies and instead followed different characters. I quite liked Scream 5 with the introduction of Chad and Mindy who survived the killers. I would say Scream 5 is the best in the franchise since the first and second movie. My only criticism of the movie is that Neve Campbell had a much smaller role than in previous instalments. 

Let’s move onto Scream 6 now. Scream 6 is the first movie to be made without Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott due to a pay dispute. Courteney Cox returns as Gale Weathers, Melissa Barrera as Sam Carpenter, Jenna Ortega as Tara Carpenter, Jasmin Savoy Brown as Mindy Meeks-Martin,  Mason Gooding as Chad Meeks-Martin, Skeet Ulrich as Billy Loomis and Hayden Panettiere as Detective Kirby Reed, who first appeared in Scream 4 but did not appear in Scream 5. 

Similar to the very first movie, the group of friends is the core focus or as Chad says “Core Fucking Four”. All of them survive with the only differences between this and other movies in the franchise being that Gale Weathers comes extremely close to death and the twist that this time there are three killers (Quinn, Bailey and Ethan who are out for revenge against the Carpenter sisters because they killed their brother Richie in Scream 5. The only characters to actually die in this movie are minor characters that nobody really has any strong connection to.

It’s quite cool how in this instalment, Sam has hallucinations of her father, Billy Loomis and that the characters question if Stu Macher from Scream 1 did actually die when the TV was smashed on his head. I think the purpose of that scene was to set him up as a possible killer for the next instalment. The movie also hinted at the fact that not even legacy characters are safe given it’s a franchise. I also really liked the ladder scene. I won’t give any further details but that was so creative and well executed. The train scenes were also well executed and extremely disturbing.

The one issue with Scream 6, other than the movie not featuring Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott is that some of the kill scenes used AI and it was very obvious AI. It wasn’t like the CGI that had been used in previous movies where it looked good. The use of AI, particularly in the stabbing scenes just looked sloppy.

So now that I’ve talked about the first six Scream movies, it’s time to talk about what I hope happens in the next installment. There are some things we already know. We already know that Sidney Prescott will not be killed off as a condition of Neve Campbell’s contract. Given what’s been said and done in previous movies, the character that is at the biggest risk of succumbing to Ghostface is Gale Weathers. She has survived six movies so far and I would argue that she shouldn’t be killed off but the franchise is self-referential and so her being killed off cannot actually be ruled out. I hope that she is not killed off though. It also can’t be ruled out that she is the new Ghostface who’s out for revenge after losing her husband Dewey and having a flailing writing career. She could be looking to get revenge on Sidney Prescott for those things, however I don’t think that the writers would suddenly flip Gale Weathers from being an ally to being the main antagonist/villain. It would basically be a total rewrite of history and would damage the franchise.

Media coverage has reported that Matthew Lillard will be returning as Stu Macher despite supposedly dying in the first installment. I would not rule out that he is the new Ghostface. Promotions say that this next installment has been 30 years in the making and that this killer is out for blood. Lillard has also said in media interviews that he was supposed to be the killer in Scream 3 but the script was revised following the Columbine High School massacre. While I would be curious to see how this would play out in the film I’m not sure that it would provide the audience with enough suspense.

I’m keen to see what theories Chad and Mindy come up with in Scream 7 to justify the new series of killings and what motive the killer has. If the killer is in fact Stu Macher I think that would be very interesting and I’d love to know what he’s been doing the last 30 years. 

My biggest hopes for the movie are that both Sidney AND Gale make it out alive. I think Gale is just as integral to the movie as Sidney is. I also hope that Chad and Mindy survive as they have a connection to Randy (who is one of my favourite characters from the franchise). For future movies in the franchise I would love to see Randy return. He could potentially return as a vision, especially if Chad or Mindy are in danger.

Whatever the case is, there isn’t long to go, with the next installment being released in just a couple of weeks.

Why I work as a bicycle courier

 At the start of September I was unceremoniously dismissed from my permanent full time job. This came after months of tensions between me and several people at the company. For context on this, I had been warned by the person who hired me that people at the company had “strong personalities” and “made up their mind about people very quickly”. I dismissed this because I wanted the job and I ignored the tensions because the pay was very good. Despite my best efforts that wasn’t good enough so at the start of September I was shafted. 

I spent all of September applying for regular jobs and then I had a brainwave. As a regular customer of Uber Eats myself I thought I should buy a bike so that I could generate an income while I job searched. Within a couple of days I had bought a road bike and I started delivering around my local area and eventually I was able to generate a full time equivalent wage through working as a bicycle courier. I was however sick of the inconsistent nature of it though and so after deciding to stop job hunting I started again and wound up getting a job offer on New Year’s Eve and started that job in early January. That company was incredibly toxic. There had been red flags from before I received the offer but I wanted to give them the benefit of the doubt  but after two weeks in the role the red flags were too much and I quit. For more context on that job, two people were fired five days after starting and a further two quit on the second week before I quit. I have no idea if more people quit after I did. What I do however know though is that the management at that company did not truly care about performance and my performance was good. Based on my sales results I was in the top 35% of the group I had started with. Instead they cared about silly things like what someone wears to work and they expected staff to start before they officially started getting paid, therefore offering their services for free and it also didn’t fit in with my acting studies which I’ve been doing for the last seven years and am very close to finishing.

When I quit that job I knew that I could always go back to the food delivery apps and that’s exactly what I did. I’d never stopped but I only did a few deliveries each day and was extremely selective. While I had the full time job I just did it for extra money because having had a number of dodgy employers I don’t think it’s smart to rely on one source of income. I think it’s way smarter to have multiple income streams so that you have a back up if something happens to your main income source.

On Monday the 26th of January, Australia Day I went back to the delivery apps with the intention of it being full time again. As it would happen I was having an excellent night with deliveries and was on track to earn my minimum daily target but unfortunately that did not happen because when I was picking up a couple of orders my bike was stolen. I had left it locked to a pole near the restaurants and in the time I was inside - all of five minutes, yes only five minutes it was stolen. When I went outside it wasn’t there and I had a moment where I was like “what? Where’s my bike?” I looked around but couldn’t see it and then I realised that my worst fear had been realised and that it had in fact been stolen so although I will not recover the bike because bike theft is so common and stolen bikes are near impossible to recover, I wanted the police to have a record on the off chance that they catch the bike thief so they don’t steal anymore bikes.

Luckily I had money coming in the next day so I was able to replace the bike and while some people downgrade when their bike is stolen to reduce the likelihood it would be stolen I decided to upgrade. I had to upgrade because I use my bike for 20-40 hours a week and so I needed something that has the ability to deal with that kind of usage. 

I did look into insurance as well but by the time you factor in the insurance premiums and the excess also known as out of pocket expenses it just isn’t worth it and in the long run you could actually end up paying more than the cost of a replacement bike.

So anyway, the purpose of today’s Podcast is to share with you the reasons I work as a bicycle courier.

1 - Get paid to exercise

I have a road bike so I get paid to exercise. When I started I had had to suspend my gym membership but still needed a way to exercise so working as a bicycle courier would combine making money with exercise. I opted to get a road bike because I don’t like e-bikes and see it as cheating. On a side note I especially hate ride share bikes. I would much rather have my own bike than use a ride share bike and I see hiring a bike as many food couriers do to be a waste of money. At the end of it you have nothing left. Yes, bikes depreciate and get wear and tear but it’s still yours and you can do whatever you want with it. I also don’t want to eat into my profits by adding an expense that I don’t need. As a general rule I try to keep my costs to a minimum though the reality is you will have unexpected expenses. When I had the first bike I had to replace the tyres (including just a few weeks before it was stolen), the brakes a couple of times and I’d had a couple of flat tyres. That bike had tyres that had an inner tube, as my new one does too. Getting back to the point, if you can’t afford a gym membership, it’s a great way to exercise. I did however reactivate my gym membership a couple of weeks ago when I had that toxic job because the gym actually complements the work as a bicycle courier because I can get fit which makes me more efficient when I am on delivery jobs.

2 - You have total freedom

Anyone who knows me knows how much I value freedom. That was the worst thing about the bike being stolen, aside from the fact that someone actually thought it would be okay to take someone’s means of earning money, I had to walk home and given how much I cycle now it felt weird to not be able to cycle, even though it was only for about 14 hours. As a bicycle courier you are self employed so you can work as little or as much as you like (though there are faults with the apps but I’ll get into that in another podcast) when you want. If you want to work at 7am you can. If you want to work at midnight you can. If you only want to work a couple of hours each day you can. You’re in total control of how much you work. You are also in control of what you wear. I generally work in shorts and a t shirt which is normal exercise gear or a skirt and a t shirt. It really depends on my mood. You can’t wear what you want when you work in a traditional job because you have a manager breathing down your neck about how there’s men in the workplace and wearing skirts isn’t appropriate. Along with that freedom you don’t have to answer to anyone. As long as you deliver the orders that’s all that actually matters rather than a bunch of silly stuff that micromanagers tend to obsess over.

You can also choose the orders that you accept and those that you decline. There are certain areas that I won’t go to because by the time I go out there I would have to return to my area where there’s a lot of restaurants and shops. That could lead to losing possible income through lost orders so it’s just not smart to take those orders. If you were in a traditional employment situation you would have to do the work that you don’t particularly want to do.

3 - You get rewarded for your efforts

Most people know that if you are in a traditional job with a boss you don’t get rewarded for your efforts but when you work as a bicycle courier you do. You directly see that reflected in your earnings, so the more you work the more you earn. I’m currently working on working smarter not harder to increase my earnings. Although there are of course time limitations you aren’t restricted by how a manager wants to reward you. You’re very much in control of things and with every delivery you do you can see your earnings increase. On the topic of earnings, in some instances you can earn more than what you would in a traditional job.

4 - You can work on your schedule to fit in with your life

Although this is similar to the total freedom point, you can work on your schedule. I study acting and need a role that fits around that but that doesn’t restrict my earnings so working as a bicycle courier works well because I don’t have to operate according to someone else’s schedule. That means that I can still work 40 hours a week if I want to and I’m not restricted by most companies expecting their staff to work 9-5pm. 

5 - There’s a community of bicycle couriers

The community is not just for bicycle couriers. It is for any food couriers. There are multiple Facebook groups where you can get to know how others operate. On the odd occasion you may also strike up a convo with someone while you’re picking up food. That can sometimes be good. Although you’re unlikely to ever see them again it’s still a cool thing.

Of course it’s not all fun. There are some things I absolutely hate about being a bicycle courier but I’ll save that for another podcast. For this one I wanted to focus on the things that I do enjoy about it.