SCREAM Stars Matthew Lillard And Skeet Ulrich Reflect On Wes Craven And The Lasting Impact Of His Passing

While this year marks the 25th anniversary of the original Scream, it also heralds the upcoming release of the next Scream film, later this month.

It’s truly sad that Wes Craven is no longer with us. He introduced us to Ghostface and the rest of the cast of Scream and re-invented the slasher. Two original cast member you shouldn’t be expecting to see in the upcoming Scream release are of course Billy and Stu played by Skeet Ulrich and Matthew Lillard who were the original killers.

Their characters may be dead, but Lillard and Ulrich have still been part of the Scream 25th anniversary festivities, reflecting on the loss of Wes Craven in a recent chat with People.com.

“I sat there… and I sobbed the entire time in darkness,” Lillard recalls Craven’s memorial service in 2015. “And it wasn’t until I was there that I realized the impact he had on my life.”

The actor continues, “We speak about this movie being so seminal in our youth and being part of our childhood in this industry, so I will never forget being like, ‘Oh, he was older, he passed, I loved him,’ but just weeping uncontrollably for like an hour. It was really crazy.”

Scream co-star Ulrich tells the same outlet, “He just had such compassion for the project, for all of us as human beings and individuals, and he worked at a deep level. He was always focused on the subtext and what was going on behind the character. And [he was] just such a gentle, beautiful human being. He was fun and he had so many cool stories. A great captain.”

“And outside of the work, he was just so much fun to be around,” Ulrich adds.

This year’s new Scream will be the first film in the franchise not directed by Wes Craven, but the film has been dedicated to his life and legacy. You can watch a touching tribute below.