Warning: This article contains spoilers for Teen Wolf: The Movie. Series creator Jeff Davis reveals how Teen Wolf: The Movie could have changed had Stiles Stilinski appeared. The McCall Pack returns to Beacon Hills to tackle the re-emergence of the Nogitsune, who uses Allison Argent to antagonize Scott and his loved ones. While many of his allies returned, the Teen Wolf movie had one notable absence – Stiles – after Dylan O'Brien turned down the Teen Wolf movie. Despite that, however, the Paramount+ project was still able to incorporate the character into the story, albeit in a tragic way.
In one of the biggest plot twists in the Teen Wolf movie, Lydia reveals that she has broken up with Stiles following a series of nightmares that shows him dying in a car crash with her. It was a heartbreaking confession and something that needs to be further tackled. This raises questions about whether Stydia was only split up because of O'Brien's absence from the Teen Wolf movie. When asked how Stiles' involvement would have changed the film's narrative in an interview with TV Insider, Davis has an interesting answer. Read it below:
"When a business decision is made, you have to see how it affects the creative and sometimes what you think is going to be bad for the movie turns out pretty good. Because I love that speech. I loved writing it and I love the way she acts it and it’s sad, but it’s utterly human at the same time. It makes for a good story. So you don’t know, though, if you would’ve still had them broken up if he had been onscreen? I don’t know. I probably would’ve done the same thing."
Stiles Returning For Teen Wolf: The Movie Would've Made It Better
O'Brien's non-involvement in the Teen Wolf movie was long confirmed, so not seeing Stiles back in Beacon Hills with the McCall Pack wasn't surprising. But given how integral he was in the original MTV show, Stiles' absence needed to be explained in the Teen Wolf movie. The explanation appropriately came from his dad, Sheriff Stilinski, saying that Stiles has his own mysterious fires to put out, although he didn't expound on it. After that brief moment, the matter was never brought up again in the movie. It was a bit odd that Scott never tried to ask for his best friend, but it made sense that Lydia wasn't interested in seeking Stiles' help amid the mysterious forest fires in Beacon Hills.
Admittedly, the idea of doing a Teen Wolf project without O'Brien had always sounded like a bad idea. The Teen Wolf movie's explanation for Stiles' whereabouts is disappointing and disrespectful to the MTV show's history and the relationships that made it up. Seeing Stiles return would've made the reunion project feel significant, as it could have revealed how his friendship with Scott has evolved over the last decade. The project would have also been better able to set up Lydia's emotional confession for a stronger impact. The Teen Wolf movie may have been able to properly set up a sequel that fully tackles the mystery surrounding her nightmares had Stiles been there.
There are currently no official plans to do a follow-up story, whether via another season of the show or a film sequel. Nevertheless, Davis has said that Paramount+ is interested in doing more features, with the decision ultimately boiling down to the reviews for Teen Wolf: The Movie. Currently, critics are mostly mixed about the sequel film, while a general consensus expressed more favorable responses. If another project moves forward, hopefully, O'Brien can finally join it as Stiles.
Source: TV Insider