Matthew Lillard weighs in on his return to the 'Scream' franchise after decades of persistence

Matthew Lillard has shared his feelings about starring in the Scream flick after decades.

As fans will be aware, the 56-year-old star marked his return to the Scream franchise, after initially playing a role in the 1996 Scream, by making a cameo appearance as Ghostface killer Stu Macher in the seventh installment of the film.

In a new chat with Nerdist, Matthew shared that he spent decades "petitioning and campaigning" for a return to the Scream franchise.

"It was amazing! I've been waiting. I'd sort of been petitioning and campaigning for that call for 20 years,” he began.

He went on to add, "At some point, I was originally supposed to be the killer in Scream 3, so I was like, 'Well, come on. He's alive. I mean, we've validated the fact that he's alive. He's going to be in three, so he can still be alive.'

Sharing his enthusiasm for the new movie, he admitted that it honors the original the spirit of the original movie.

"So that was super fun... I think the fans are going to love the movie. I think it really hearkens back to what the original was."

He concluded by saying, "And for me, getting a chance to come back and play in this world after all these years is really lovely and I'm excited."