Credit: Paramount PicturesThe Scream movies might just be the best “whodunnits” out there, as we’re always left surprised by the reveal of the Ghostface killers. And though franchise-final girl Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) won’t be returning in the sixth installment, it seems the filmmakers are doing their best to create plenty of mystery and intrigue even before the film’s theatrical release this March.
Scream VI (2023) has been raising many eyebrows lately, with interesting posters containing several hidden clues and messages about the direction the franchise may be about to take. A Christmas-themed poster of Times Square teases a Scream musical of some kind, while a New York City subway map in the shape of the Ghostface mask still has fans scratching their heads.
Check out the map in question below:
“My New Year’s resolution? Travel more. #ScreamVI”
My New Year’s resolution? Travel more. #ScreamVI pic.twitter.com/61WS9X66bF
— Scream (@ScreamMovies) January 1, 2023
Recently, we attempted to dissect the map and uncover all its potential hidden meanings. With each “route” representing one of the (now) six Scream movies, the “stations” along them are named after both the Ghostface killers and their victims from each installment, with, of course, the exception of the latest film, which is labelled as being “under construction”.
Two of the most glaring clues are the two stations labelled “Sam Carpenter” (Melissa Barrera) and “Kirby Reed” (Hayden Panettiere). Sam Carpenter is (seemingly) the new final girl, while Kirby Reed has been brought back from the dead for Scream VI, after she was presumed dead at the end of Scream 4 (2011), having been stabbed by one of the Ghostface killers.
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But we may have missed another vital clue, and it’s the station labelled “Stu Macher” (Matthew Lillard), which relates to the original Scream (1996). As you know, Stu Macher is one of the Ghostface killers in that film, alongside Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich). Unlike all the other stations on the map, though, Stu’s is the only one that isn’t white — it’s pink.
Even before the map was shared on social media, there have been rumors that Stu will be brought back to life for the upcoming sequel. However, while he would be the easiest Ghostface to resurrect (he was only crushed by a television, after all), Scream writer Kevin Williamson recently put the rumors to bed, saying in a recent interview with Collider:
“No, he’s [Stu Macher] dead. I think that started because of the college scene [in Scream 2], the frat party scene because he’s standing in the background. He just came to visit set that night.”
Williamson is referring to Matthew Lillard’s blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo in Scream 2 (1997), in which he appears only as a background extra, and not the character of Stu Macher.
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With all that said, Scream (2022) did bring Billy Loomis back from the dead, in the form of a de-aged Skeet Ulrich, as his illegitimate daughter Sam Carpenter suffers from hallucinations of some kind, for which she is prescribed antipsychotic medication.
Is it possible then, that Stu Macher will also return to the fold in Scream VI? Could this be one of the ways the upcoming film will “distract” viewers from Neve Campbell’s absence, as Jenna Ortega recently teased? It’s possible that Kevin Williamson is trying to throw us off the scent, and that perhaps the filmmakers have left one too many clues in all their promotional material.
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Check out the official Scream VI trailer below:
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As per Wikipedia, here’s the official synopsis for Scream VI:
The film continues with the survivors of the latest Ghostface killings, sisters Samantha and Tara Carpenter and twins Chad and Mindy Meeks, leaving Woodsboro behind and starting a new chapter of their lives in New York City only to again be plagued by a streak of murders by a new Ghostface killer.
Scream VI is the sixth movie in the Scream franchise. It stars Jenna Ortega (Tara Carpenter), Melissa Barrera (Sam Carpenter), Jasmin Savoy Brown (Mindy Meeks), Mason Gooding (Chad Meeks), Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers), Hayden Panettiere (Kirby Reed) and Roger L Jackson (the voice of Ghostface).
Newcomers are Dermot Mulroney, Henry Czerny, Tony Revolori, Jack Champion, Devyn Nekoda, Liana Liberato, Josh Segarra, and Samara Weaving, all in undisclosed roles.
Scream VI will be released in theaters on March 10, 2023.
What do you think this bizarre new image means? Let us know in the comments down below!