The first trailer for Scream 7 has arrived to pull back the curtain on the upcoming installment of the horror franchise. Beyond the questions of how it will explain away the absences of Sam and Tara Carpenter, played by Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega, one of the biggest mysteries is once more the identity of Ghostface.
The Scream movies have always had clever reveals with the killer's identity, and the theories around Ghostface's plot in Scream 7 have been especially prominent with the confirmed returns of dead characters: Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard), Roman Bridger (Scott Foley), and Dewey Riley (David Arquette).
The Scream 7 trailer stops short of unmasking Ghostface to not spoil the movie's biggest twists, but there are a few hints about who is under the iconic mask. Based on multiple different developments, Stu may very well be Ghostface in Scream 7.
"Reminds Me Of Where We Grew Up"
One of the earliest teases of this new Ghostface's identity comes during what plays as their first conversation with Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) on the phone. The killer talks about the small town where she now lives and the beautiful daughter she has (more on her later). Then, there's the notable line, "Reminds me of where we grew up."
While the killer could be lying and not really be from Woodsboro, California, that is where the phone call originates from on the caller ID. This increases the likelihood that Scream 7's Ghostface killer a) grew up in Woodsboro and b) grew up there with Sidney.
With Dewey and Stu returning in some form, that turns the attention toward them more so. Stu would make more sense, as his "death" is much easier to undo than Dewey's. He also would have the motive, to finish what he and Billy Loomis started all those years ago and get revenge on Sidney for smashing his face with a TV.
So, if Scream 7's Ghostface killer is someone who grew up with Sidney in Woodsboro, Stu would fit that bill.
Sidney's Daughter's Name Connects Her To Stu
Stu Macher (Matthew Lillard) and Tatum Riley (Rose McGowan) in Scream 1996
The Scream 7 trailer also revealed a major new detail about the franchise that holds a connection to Stu. The movie introduces Sidney's daughter, played by Isabel May. It's confirmed in the trailer that Sidney named her daughter Tatum, which is the same name as her best friend in the original film.
Rose McGowan played Tatum Riley in the 1996 movie. She was directly connected to most of the main characters in the film. Tatum was Sidney's best friend, explaining why she would give her daughter this name. She is also Dewey's sister, which notably adds another connection to Arquette's character for his mysterious return.
After all, the movie could have named Sidney's daughter anything. Choosing Tatum specifically had to be done for a reason. And if Stu is the killer, then bringing in this connection would make sense for the overall story, rather than just have the teenager's name be a reference to an original character.
Burning Down The Macher House
Ghostface burning down the Macher house in Scream 7
It's also notable that there is a heavy emphasis on the Macher house in Scream 7 based on the trailer. It begins with a return to the residence, which is now an Airbnb filled with connections to the original murders, Ghostface, and the in-universe Stab movies.
The Macher house was a central location in the original film, as it was Stu's home, and most recently returned in the end of 2022's Scream. It appears that after Amber Freeman's (Mikey Madison) death and everything that happened at the residence, her parents sold the property, or morbidly turned it into an Airbnb themselves.
Other than just having a sense of theatrics, it wouldn't really make sense for someone else to want to burn the Macher house down. But if Stu is Ghostface, then there are plenty of reasons why he'd want to destroy his childhood home and some of the lasting memories of what happened decades ago.
"This Is Going To Be Fun"
Ghostface in Scream 7
While all the previous points help point to Stu, some could still be seen as hints to other Ghostface reveals. But the trailer certainly wants audiences to be thinking about one half of the franchise's original killer reveal. This is evident by letting us hear Matthew Lillard's voice at the very end, as Stu says, "This is going to be fun."
This is unmistakably the voice of Stu without any modulations from a voice changer. Using him as the last bit of audio in the trailer is a way to tease how large his role is in the film without directly confirming anything. Think of how Lucasfilm used Palpatine's laughter at the end of Star Wars: The Rise of Skywalker's first trailer. This time, it's Stu who has somehow returned.
The context for Stu's line is unknown, so there is always a chance that this was done intentionally to throw audiences off from the true nature of his role and the actual identity of the Ghostface killer. That would be easier to believe if there weren't so many connections to Stu sprinkled throughout the trailer, increasing the likelihood that he's back as Ghostface in Scream 7.
