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Horror icons are returning to their roots, it seems. In one of the bigger stories from the genre this year, Matthew Lillard announced his return as the supposedly dead Stu Macher in the Scream franchise. Now, we know that yet another superstar of suspense, Devon Sawa, is angling to come back to the Final Destination franchise, and we see no reason why he couldn't do just that.

And yes, we're taking the fact that his character died into consideration.

Before you start to argue, let me first remind you of a force more powerful than Death (in movies, anyway). That is, fan service. And fan service is exactly the kind of force that Warner Bros. can weave as they strive to pump out more Final Destination films, as Sawa himself has recently revealed his desire to come back to the franchise. Speaking to People, Sawa said he would "for sure return" to the films "if that [opportunity] ever came up."

Not that we're experts on the subject, but with nostalgia being one of the biggest things audiences are looking for in movies today, we'd bet the original Final Destination star saying he'd return for more is the opportunity. No one's saying no to actors revisiting their old roles these days; Warner Bros. is certainly not an exception.

Now that that's covered, let me remind you that horror has a long history of bringing back not just dead killers, but dead victims as well. Remember that the first Nightmare on Elm Street ends with the implication that Nancy was murdered by Freddy? Then, after her sacrifice in Alien³, Ellen Ripley made the title of Alien: Resurrection true to its word. Hell, Laurie Strode has technically died twice in the Halloween movies (I know they're alternate timelines, shut up).

But here's the thing - just like Stu Macher in the Scream universe, there's actually reason to believe that Sawa's character, Alex Browning, doesn't even need to be resurrected. It could just be that the in-universe reports of his death were wrong.

Fans have long speculated that, because we didn't actually see the life leaving Stu Macher's body at the end of the first Scream (as we did with his partner, Billy Loomis), Lillard's character actually survived the movie's confrontation. Scream VI even included a mention of the in-universe theory that Stu had survived that night, and Lillard's return to the franchise confirms that those conspiracy theorists were correct. Could the same be true of Alex?

The answer is an emphatic "yes." Though he survives the events of the first Final Destination, Alex Browning is killed (quite anticlimactically) in between that film and its 2003 sequel, with the only proof of his death being a newspaper article that reports on him having died by... brick? Yes, Alex Browning survives an impossible situation just to be killed, off-camera, by a falling piece of house. Unless, of course, that newspaper got their facts wrong.

So if you think about it, bringing back Alex Browning for another tete-a-tete with Death itself wouldn't just be a huge money maker and perfectly in line with another horror franchise giant - it could very well set right an ending that fans have always been perplexed about.

And again, it would make just an absolute pile of money.

Final Destinations Bloodlines comes to theaters May 16, 2025.

In the immortal words of Danny Elfman, "Life's no fun without a good scare." We couldn't agree more, which is why we've cobbled together a couple pieces to send a chill up your spine. Join Popverse as we explore:

• The best horror movies of all time, according to horror aficionado Greg Silber
• The most underrated horror movies from the past couple years
• All the new and upcoming horror movies for 2025 and beyond

And much gore. Er, more. Much more.