With a new entry in the Scream franchise set to hit cinemas soon, actor Matthew Lillard spoke about his audition for the first film and why he missed out on the leading role he initially auditioned for.
In an interview with Entertainment Weekly, Lillard elaborated on previous stories revealing that he originally tried out Billy Loomis -- Sidney Prescott's boyfriend in the film and a role that eventually went to actor Skeet Ulrich alongside star Neve Campbell. "I auditioned, and they said, 'You're not the right guy to make out with Neve Campbell the entire time; why don't you come back and come in for the best friend?'" Lillard said, explaining how he wound up as Billy's friend, Stu Macher. "They made a mistake casting Skeet over me, that's for sure!"
The first Scream movie was released in 1996 and inducted the iconic Ghostface killer into slasher history. The twist reveal of Scream was that Billy and Stu had shared the Ghostface mask and teamed up to commit the Woodsboro Murders, leaving the two dead by the end of the film. Despite Stu's shocking death by electrocution after a television landed on his head, Lillard previously suggested that Stu might have lived after all. "I mean... it was just a TV? Right? You'd think he'd survive?"
Lillard also spoke positively about making a return to the Scream franchise as Stu, saying, "There's nobody that wouldn't want to come back and reprise a role they got to do when they were a boy. [To] be able to do something different as a man would be exciting. You just don't get that opportunity often." However, Lillard "can't imagine" that a return would ever be in the cards for future films.
The upcoming fifth Scream movie, also titled Scream, reunites some of the original cast members while introducing a new group of characters. Creator Kevin Williamson recently explained why the decision was taken to remove the number "5" from the movie title. "I don't think anybody wanted to see the number five after something. You'd have to ask them—Paramount or whoever, but I think taking the 5 off and calling it Scream [works] because it’s brand new," explained Williamson.
Courteney Cox, who plays Gale Weathers in both the original and upcoming Scream, echoed Williamson's comments that the fifth movie is the start of something new. "This is the 5th one, it's not Scream 5 though, this is Scream," she explained. "It's hip, it's scary, it's just a new Scream - it's not a reboot, it's not a remake, it's just a brand new launch."
Scream is scheduled to stalk cinemas on January 14, 2022.
Source: Entertainment Weekly