Scream 2022's first trailer provides the first look at a new Ghostface wreaking havoc on the town of Woodsboro, but it also reveals Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) returning to Stu Macher's house. Stu, who was played by Matthew Lillard, was one of the original Ghostface killers alongside Skeet Ulrich's Billy Loomis in the first Scream movie. The pair attempted to carry out their plan of killing Sidney following a house party at Stu's house. In doing so, Stu's house became a key location to the first Woodsboro massacre and, more importantly, the Scream franchise. Over two decades later, the infamous location is making a return.
Other than the returns of Sidney, Dewey Riley, Gale Weathers, and Scream 4's Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton) alongside a set of newcomers, not was known about the plot ahead of the first-look footage. However, Scream's trailer hints at what direction the series is going in 2022. To honor the iconic slasher Casey Becker (Drew Barrymore) scene from the 1996 original, the trailer opened with Jenny Ortega's character being terrorized by Ghostface while home alone. From there, it switches to Dewey nervously contacting Sidney to urge her to come back to Woodsboro. Not only is a new killer on the loose, but there seems to be a connection linking the new Ghostface to Stu and Billy, requiring the involvement of Sidney, Dewey, and Gale.
Ahead of the Scream 2022 trailer debut, several intriguing images were released. One of which showed Melissa Barrera's Sam Carpenter standing in what looked like a familiar location: Stu's old house. As speculated, Sam was at the location, as confirmed by the trailer. Aside from showing Sam inside the Macher residence, the trailer shows Sidney standing in front of Stu's house before walking inside with a gun before being met by Ghostface. So, the question now is: what forces Sidney to return to the house that almost led to her death nearly 25 years prior? The answer may come from the new victims' link to Stu and Billy, as well as the hidden meaning within the title.
As revealed by Sam, who looks to be the new Sidney-like central character in Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett's Scream entry, "the attacks were all on people related to the original killers." She presumably means Stu and Billy, which strengthens the link between Woodsboro's current conflict and Ghostface's origins. If Ghostface is going after people related to Stu and Billy, it would make sense for the person to also go after Sidney, Dewey, and Gale, considering the trio were involved in the first set of killings. Perhaps the new Ghostface is a victim's family member from the first movie, acting revenge on those linked to the Macher and Loomis family. Another possibility is that Ghostface is also related to Stu and Billy, killing as a way to finish what the pair started. This could explain why the story returns to Stu's house, bringing everything full circle. Considering Ghostface said, "it's an honor" being in the presence of Sidney, it implies the two have never actually met. Attacking relatives of the original killers could be a way to throw off the scent if this Ghostface is also a family member hellbent on picking up from where Stu and Billy left off.
There also has to be a reason why Bettinelli-Olpin and Gillett titled the movie Scream and not Scream 5. Though the movie serves as a sequel to all previous installments, it clearly focuses heavily on the events of Wes Craven's Scream from 1996. The upcoming film is strongly honoring Craven while tying back to the events of the franchise debut. In doing so, critical locations within Woodsboro are back in the spotlight for whatever Ghostface has planned for Sam and Sidney. It may be impossible for some original characters like Stu to return, but Scream 2022 is setting up to feature several more callbacks to the chapter that started it all.
