Mild spoilers ahead for Scream VI.
The horror franchise is built on long-running franchises, and that hasn’t changed in recent years. One of the most highly anticipated upcoming horror movies this year has been Scream VI, which has finally arrived in theaters. The new slasher features the return of Hayden Panetteire as Kirby Reed, further showing how directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett are leaning into the franchise’s history. The pair of Scream VI directors confirmed it contains another legacy character easter egg, so bring on the theories.
Aside from working on their pair of Scream movies, it seems like the filmmakers at Radio Silence are thinking two steps ahead. The 2022 sequel secretly confirmed the survival of Kirby in an easter egg, while also bringing back Marley Shelton as Judy Hicks. As you can see in the video above, I had the privilege of speaking with Scream VI’s directors ahead of the movie’s release, where I asked if they had a list of legacy characters they’d like to see pop up in a future installment. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin offered an intriguing tease of what could come next, saying:
There’s an easter egg in this one to our knowledge, maybe nobody’s said anything to us. But there’s an easter egg of a character we’d like to bring back.
Do you hear that sound? It’s countless Scream fans out there running back to theaters to try and figure out what legacy character might be teased in the sixth movie. Although since that latest slasher is filled to the brim with easter eggs, there are seemingly a ton of possibilities. Let’s break it all down.
The amount of easter eggs in Scream VI became obvious in the trailers, which debuted a shrine to the various Ghostface killers. That location is jam packed with props, costumes, and weapons from the previous five Scream movies. Although there are a few standout references I think might be hinting at more familiar faces returning to the Scream franchise.
One popular fan theory online is that Matthew Lillard’s Stu Macher from the OG Scream was in fact not dead, and could return in another sequel. Writer Kevin Williamson even addressed this, including the possibility that Stu was a twin. And with the TV that killed him playing such a major role in the final battle of Scream VI, could this be who Bettinelli-Olpin was referencing? They’ve already got a good relationship with Lillard, who played a cameo in the last movie at Stab 8’s flamethrower-wielding Ghostface.
Another A+ easter egg included early on in Scream VI is that Jenna Ortega’s Tara Carpenter is thinking about pledging Delta Lambda Zeta while attending Blackmore University. This is the same sorority from Scream 2, and there are two survivors from that movie we haven’t seen since it released back in 1997. Namely Sister Lois and Sister Murphy, played by Rebecca Gayheart and Portia de Rossi respectively.
Since there are countless easter eggs in Scream VI, there are plenty of other possibilities for this ongoing mystery. Only time will tell how it all shakes out. But the sky’s the limit, as Tyler Gillett also told me:
I mean, we brought Billy back as a hallucination so anything’s possible.
Touche. Skeet Ulrich has appeared in both of the last Scream movies, thanks to the hallucinations by new final girl Sam Carpenter (Melissa Barrera). And as such, the sky’s the limit. We’ll jut have to see which fan theories ultimately play out, and if the Scream VI directors officially confirm who they want to see return. Fingers crossed.
Scream VI is in theaters now, and is projected to break records for the franchise. In the meantime, check out the 2023 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
