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‘Scream’ Filmmakers Reveal the Surprise Easter Egg Cameos You Didn’t Notice! [Spoiler Interview]

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The new Scream packs extensive franchise history into a film dedicated to Wes Craven‘s memory. That history doesn’t just shape the story; it offers fans a slew of references, Scream Easter eggs, and even fun surprise cameos to track.

Spoiler warning: This article contains Scream spoilers.

Bloody Disgusting chatted with directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin & Tyler Gillett and executive producer Chad Villella about Scream‘s impressively long list of nods and Easter eggs. The chat revealed major surprises about legacy cameos hidden throughout…


Stu Lives! …Sort of.

Actor Matthew Lillard has been vocal about wanting to return to the franchise, even if it seemed a safe bet that his character, Stu Macher, did indeed meet his demise thanks to heroine Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell). The filmmakers found an appropriately hilarious way to bring Lillard back into the fold, as flamethrower Ghostface glimpsed in the Stab 8 YouTube trailer.

Gillett explained, “Matthew Lillard does the voice of flamethrower Ghostface, ‘this shit is lit.'”

“Yeah, he’s been around to help us when we’ve asked. He’s been great through this whole process. He did some voice ADR for us,” Bettinelli-Olpin said. He then revealed a surprising meta-joke, “He also did a line at the party. There’s a line when Amber’s walking through the party, there’s a couple right before she turns into the kitchen, and Matthew Lillard’s ADR is “Cool house Freeman,” which we thought was funny because it’s his house.”

Gillett added, “That was an early joke… we thought that’d be funny to have Matt Lillard comment on how cool the house is; that just ended up actually happening.”


Casey Becker, too?!

Lillard wasn’t the only legacy cast member to lend their voice to an audio cameo. The filmmakers sought out all cast and crew members tied to the franchise. That included Casey Becker actress Drew Barrymore, whose audio cameo is intentionally timed as a nod to the original Scream‘s shocking opener.

“There’s a little bit of everybody in there. Drew is in the movie. She is the principal making announcements at the beginning of the movie when the camera pans down from the tree to find our new cast at the picnic tables. Drew did the principal announcement, and that’s just one of many, many.” Villella said.

The timing of her voiceover comes hot on the heels of the opening attack on Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega), an intentional wink to the 1996 film per Bettinelli-Olpin. “We thought that was fun too because that’s the same first scene after her death in the original.”


A Cast and Crew Toast to Wes Craven

One of the more meta moments comes in the film’s third act, staged at Stu Macher’s house, where Amber (Mikey Madison) is throwing a party “For Wes,” a dual reference to the character Wes Hicks (Dylan Minnette) and the film’s dedication to Wes Craven.

While the party-going teens toast to Wes Hicks’ memory, the filmmakers enlisted everyone associated with Craven to provide an ADR toast to his memory.

Gillett runs down many involved: “Then we got Jamie Kennedy to come back, he does the line, “Someone’s goofy ass dad is kicking us out at the party.” Henry WinklerAdam BrodyHayden Panettiere they all are a part of the toast, the “to Wes” toast, Patrick LussierMarco Beltrami, Wes’ widow Iya [Labunka]. We got everyone who knows Wes, including Julie Plec. Their voices are all in that big toast at the party at the end.”

The idea to bring in as many legacy cast and crew members was there from the start, Villella explained. “Honestly, all the nods to all the involvement of the original cast, I think is something that we wanted to take into consideration when we were making this. Let’s get everybody back. Let’s bring back as many people as we can. Once we knew Skeet [Ulrich] and Billy were coming back, really, we can layer in the voices of these other actors in a way. I mean, honestly, we’re dedicating this move for Wes. We should include everybody from the entire Scream family.”

Stay tuned for more of our chat with Bettinelli-Olpin, Gillett, and Villella breaking down the new movie’s many deep-cut references, nods, and Easter eggs!

Horror journalist, RT Top Critic, and Critics Choice Association member. Co-Host of the Bloody Disgusting Podcast. Has appeared on PBS series' Monstrum, served on the SXSW Midnighter shorts jury, and moderated horror panels for WonderCon and SeriesFest.

Interviews

‘Immaculate’ Director Michael Mohan on Religious Horror and Why You Can’t Pull Punches [Halloweenies Podcast]

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Immaculate SXSW Horror

This weekend, Neon is releasing its highly anticipated new slice of horror Immaculate. Directed by Michael Mohan, Sydney Sweeney stars as an American nun named Cecilia who joins a remote convent in the Italian countryside. What begins as a warm welcome quickly devolves into a living nightmare as Cecilia discovers her new home harbors a sinister secret and unspeakable horrors. You can see it with a crowd this Friday.

In anticipation, Halloweenies co-host/executive producer Michael Roffman sits down with director Michael Mohan to discuss how he approached making his first horror film. Together, the two chat about the effects of religious horror in 2024, Sweeney’s Scream Queen magic, the ending everyone’s going to be talking about, and why Horror needs zero rules. He also offers some choice Horror recommendations.

Stream the episode below or subscribe via Apple Podcasts, Stitcher, Spotify, RadioPublic, Acast, Google Podcasts, and RSS. New to the Halloweenies? Catch up with the gang by revisiting their essential episodes on past franchises such as Halloween, A Nightmare on Elm Street, Friday the 13th, Scream, The Evil Dead, and this past year’s Chucky! This year? The Alien franchise.

You can also become a member of their Patreon, The Rewind, for hilariously irreverent commentaries (e.g. The Texas Chainsaw Massacre, Gremlins, Jaws), one-off deep dives on your favorite rentals (e.g. Killer Klowns from Outer Space, Invasion of the Body Snatchers ), and even spinoffs like their recent run Fortune & Glory: An Indiana Jones Podcast.

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