Scream star thinks the horror franchise has gotten ‘too violent’

The Scream franchise has proven to be one of the horror genre’s most enduring properties. In the nearly 30 years since it began, the series has produced six films and a spin-off TV show that lasted three seasons on MTV. Across its various sequels and spin-offs, the franchise hasn’t deviated all that much from its original formula of meta jokes, third-act twists, and gruesome kills, either. It has instead tried to consistently elevate the stakes of its stories and the violence of its set pieces.

One of the franchise’s original stars, however, seems to think that it went a little too far in its most recent outing. Stu Macher actor Matthew Lillard said as much in an interview with GamesRadar, in which he shared his opinion on the franchise’s recent, Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett-directed sequels (2022’s Scream and 2023’s Scream VI) and the news that Scream screenwriter Kevin Williamson will be returning to direct the franchise’s forthcoming seventh film installment.

“I think it’s in a good place. I think that [the movie being] back in the hands of Kevin Williamson is great. I love what [Tyler Gillett and Matt Bettinelli-Olpin] were doing before. Nothing against them,” Lillard told the outlet. “I thought the movie got too violent. I think [Scream VI] was, like… I don’t think Ghostface ever needs a shotgun.”

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Lillard is, of course, referring to the moment in Scream VI when one of the film’s Ghostface killers hunts sisters Sam (Melissa Barrera) and Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega) in a New York City bodega with a shotgun. The scene in question has remained a controversial point of debate among the franchise’s fans ever since it was featured in one of the first trailers for Scream VI. Lillard, in other words, isn’t alone in his dislike of the franchise’s recent deviation from Ghostface’s usual, knife-wielding ways, though both 2022’s Scream and 2023’s Scream VI received largely positive reviews from both casual viewers and critics alike when they were released.

In the same interview with GamesRadar, Lillard went on to express some hope for the franchise’s future and, specifically, Williamson’s ability to reinvent the franchise that he helped create. “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,” Lillard noted. “I hope that Kevin takes it in a brand new, brave, and exciting direction.”

Scream 7 is currently set to hit theaters on February 27, 2026.