David Arquette's character was originally written to die at the end of Scream. However, feedback from test screenings suggested that the audience would rather see Dewey alive at the end of the film instead of dead. A similar case occurred in Scream 2. Dewey eventually dies in Scream (2022), the fifth film.
Dwight "Dewey" Riley is the Deputy Sheriff of Woodsboro, the brother of Tatum Riley and friend of Sidney Prescott. After a series of murders, he helps lead the investigation, while pursuing a romance with Gale Weathers. He is stabbed by Ghostface during the finale of Scream, but survives.
Billy attempts to stab Sidney but is shot by Gale. After Randy remarks that horror film killers revive for a final scare, Billy sits back up and Sidney shoots him in the head, killing him.
One of the few times the killer admits to a specific murder is in 2022's Scream when Amber gloats to Gale about being the one who killed Dewey. As she is the first Ghostface to kill off a legacy character, she cements herself in the pantheon of the franchise's killers.
Dewey's limp, a result of a stab wound in the first film and shown to be quite prominent in the sequels, is no longer present. Though not explained onscreen, the script dismisses it quickly with a screen direction note: "His limp is nearly nonexistent.
Scream: The Complete History of Dewey Riley | Horror History
Why was Dewey killed off?
To make the impact effective, the film needed to sacrifice its legacy character, who died in the line of duty facing Ghostface, which circles back to Dewey's role since 1996's Scream. Scream also showed that anyone could die to challenge the implications of the central characters being immortal to Ghostface.
Undoubtedly! Dewey is a resilient character and has survived injuries in previous Scream movies. If somebody found him in time and got him medical attention, there's a good chance he could have made it. But let's not forget that this is a horror movie, and the writers might have had other plans for Dewey's character.
However, after much struggle, she dies by getting trapped in a garage door. This makes her the first Scream character to not be murdered by a knife. Tatum's constant presence in Sidney's life threatens Billy's plans. Hence, she has to be eliminated for his plan to succeed.
Courteney Cox is full of praise for new Scream directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett — but she did have one quibble with the franchise's latest film: the decision to definitively kill off the character of Dewey Riley, the now ex-cop portrayed by Cox's real-life former husband David Arquette.
In the closing sequence, it's revealed that the killer is not just one person, but two people: her boyfriend Billy Loomis (Skeet Ulrich) and his best friend Stu (Matthew Lillard).
Her mind shut down and gave her a false happy ending. This is also why the Smile ending was so impactful, as it made the audience believe Rose had won, only to pull back the curtains and reveal she never escaped and was doomed. That false sense of security made Smile one of the better horror movies of 2022.
Only a select few prominent characters actually survive Scream's ending, including the movie's iconic Final Girl, Sidney Prescott. While each character receives near-fatal wounds, the ultimate survivors in Scream are Sidney, Randy Meeks, Gale Weathers, Dewey Riley, and Neil Prescott.
The first Ghostface attack against Tara Carpenter (Jenna Ortega), which kicks off Scream 2022, takes place 25 years after the original Woodsboro Ghostface murders. Sidney Prescott is now 42 years old, Gale Weathers is 57, and Dewey Riley is murdered at the age of 50 years old.
During a panel at Emerald City Comic Con 2023, Matthew Lillard (who played Stu) weighed in on the debate. “Stu and Billy were definitely gay,” Lillard definitively announced. “You just throw that away like that, you just toss it out,” Billy Loomis actor Skeet Ulrich said with astonishment.
The first film overtly states that Dewey is obsessed with Sidney. His crush is obvious, and although his feelings seem to change from romantic to protective and platonic, he still finds reasons to be around her as much as possible.
After the guests leave, Stu and Billy reveal their plan to Sidney, including how they are going to frame her father, Neil Prescott. Billy and Stu begin to stab each other to make themselves look like the victims of their scapegoat.
He was killed by Billy Loomis as a diversion, for the party guests to leave and for Billy to isolate and kill Sidney. For the Stab movie based on his real-life murder, he was portrayed by Ron Howard. 15 years after his murder, a golden statue was made in his memory.
True to her warning, Beth suddenly rose up from the floor and made another attempt to kill both of them, only to end up quickly being shot to death by Kym.
Roman is the secret killer revealed at the end of Scream 3. He is easily the franchise's weakest Ghostface for several reasons. These movies work as whodunit mysteries because they dish out a lot of fake-outs.
Roman is the most intelligent killer as he works alone, leaving no loose ends to tie up and eliminating the possibility of a partner having a change of heart. He also was the blueprint for every Ghostface, starting with Billy, but no one knew because he kept himself out of the picture until the third film.
Stu Macher is responsible for some of the most brutal Ghostface kills in the Scream franchise and is relatively unique because he doesn't really seem to have a motive.
Though the seventh film is still in the works, the franchise has hit a bump in the road as it has been reported that several cast members will no longer return for the sequel.
The movie Scream was inspired by real-life serial killer Daniel Rolling's horrific murder spree in 1990. Daniel Rolling's crimes were brutal, targeting college students and leaving a community in a state of shock.
