Matthew Lillard, who famously played Stu Macher in Scream, did not like one aspect of the sixth movie.
Speaking to GamesRadar+, Lillard thought Scream 6 was “too violent.” He elaborated by specifically talking about the scene where Ghostface uses a shotgun.
“I don’t think Ghostface ever needs a shotgun,” said Lillard. “I think that the movies are — everything is trying to repeat what we did in the first movie in a lot of ways. Like, a maniacal monologue at the end. It’s really hard to do.
“I hope Kevin [Williamson] takes it in a brand new, brave, and exciting directing so that we can sort of find different colors and different joys,” he continued.
In the same interview, Lillard discussed his faith in Kevin Williamson, who created the Scream franchise and will direct the seventh movie. He claims to think the franchise is in “a good place” after the departures of Radio Silence’s Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin.
“I think that [the movie being] back in the hands of Kevin Williamson is great,” Lillard praised. “I love what [Gillett and Bettinelli-Olpin] were doing before, nothing against them. In fact, I thought they were taking a really exciting way.”
Matthew Lillard and the Scream franchise
Warning: Spoilers for Scream ahead
Fans of the Scream franchise will remember Lillard’s portrayal of Stu Macher. He is one of the two Ghostface killers revealed at the end of the movie. The other is Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich).
While he has not returned to the franchise as Stu, Lillard is still clearly a fan of it. He has kept tabs on the franchise with the subsequent five installments. It is important to note that Lillard did have an uncredited cameo in Scream 2.
Outside of the Scream franchise, Lillard is known for roles in SLC Punk, She’s All That, and Thirteen Ghosts. He also had roles in The Descendants, Trouble with the Curve, and Match.
Another one of his iconic roles is as Shaggy Rogers in the live-action Scooby-Doo franchise. The first Scooby-Doo movie was written by James Gunn and directed by Raja Gosnell. It was a big hit, grossing $275 million on an $84 million budget.
A sequel, Monsters Unleashed, was released a couple of years later. It grossed $181 million during its theatrical run. Gunn and Gosnell returned as the writer and director of it.
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The Five Nights at Freddy’s career renaissance
In 2023, Lillard starred in the live-action Five Nights at Freddy’s adaptation. The movie was directed by Emma Tammi, who also co-wrote it with Scott Cawthon and Seth Cuddeback.
Blumhouse Productions produced Five Nights at Freddy’s, with Universal Pictures distributing it. The movie was released in theaters and on Peacock simultaneously.
Despite that, it made $291 million worldwide at the box office. Five Nights at Freddy’s broke Blumhouse’s record for the highest-grossing movie (worldwide) in the studio’s history. A sequel was green-lit.
Josh Hutcherson stars in it as Mike Schmidt, a man who takes a job as a night guard at Freddy Fazbear’s Pizza. Lillard stars as Mike’s career counselor, Steve, in the movie.