Scream and Scooby-Doo star Matthew Lillard is beloved by generations, and the actor has a big year coming up with Five Nights at Freddy’s 2 and Scream 7. ComingSoon spoke with Lillard about his new Quest End Druid whiskey and the Fam Club that just launched, plus his unexpected Scream return and how FNAF 2 will up the ante.
“Following the ongoing success of their fantasy-and-gaming-inspired brand Quest’s End Whiskey, fandom-centric spirits company Find Familiar Spirits unveils its latest chapter: Quest’s End Druid. Crafted by and for fans, this limited-edition release will be available May 1, 2025. For Season Two, Quest’s End has leveled up with a unique Fam Club community membership and a forthcoming High Rollers Guild lineup that includes Druid, as well as Monk, Wizard, and Revenant. For company co-founder Matthew Lillard, spring–a season of renewal and transformation–felt like the perfect moment to launch Quest’s End Druid,” says the official announcement.
“Inspired by the druidic magic of the forest, Find Familiar’s Master Blender Molly Troupe created Druid from a four-grain bourbon with strong flavors of vanilla and caramel. She then blended it with a delicious rye whiskey and finished it in both rum and rouge vermouth barrels to draw out beautiful green and herbal notes.”
Tyler Treese: Matthew, this is an exciting time for you. You’re kicking off season two of your fantasy-inspired spirits line with Quest’s End Druid. What can we expect from this whiskey?
Matthew Lillard: The whiskey itself is gonna be buried in different stuff, right? Every year we build every bottle we build based on what the story is. So in case people don’t know, each bottle is a continuation of an ongoing saga that goes across 16 different drops. Each bottle is a new chapter in that story, but it’s also a new liquid that’s built on whatever that character is doing, the character class, or what our master blender reads.
So this year, the liquid is varied. I mean, we’re trying to break away from just Kentucky Bourbon, right? We’re doing lots of exciting stuff. This particular blend comes from the Pacific Northwest and is really herbaceous and delicious.
This has been such a fun experiment for you. You had the first season with Paladin, Rogue, and Dragon, and those did very well for you. What’s been most rewarding about combining these two loves of storytelling and spirits?
Yeah, I’ll tell you, it’s so funny. So we just launched something called Fam Club. Our answer to sort of how people can save money. ‘Cause we have a very premium price point, and also find ways to engage the communities. One of the things we kept hearing about is like, “We want to connect to other people in our customer base.”
So we just launched that. So far, sales for Fam Club are going through the roof. It’s $50 a month, you get Discord, you get a bunch of behind-the-ropes experiences like tastings and parties, and like, all these sorts of really cool ways to connect, on top of getting a discount. So I’m excited about the fact that this thing that we’ve dreamed about, which is building a spirit company, building a community company built around spirits is now like our next big step into that is now taking off. So I’m excited about that.
This is a really exciting time for your career as well. What’s really cool about your Scream return is you basically spoke that into existence. You kept saying, “I would love to come back.” So what, what was your reaction when you actually got that call that it was actually happening after all these years?
Matthew Lillard: Yeah, I was really not gonna lie, I was pretty excited about it. I had a lot of questions for Kevin when he called. I’m excited, really ecstatic to be back. I hope fans are happy. I hope people are excited to see me, and I just hope I don’t screw it up. I mean, you know, I think people are gonna love it. And then I think the script’s great. I think the cast is fantastic, so I’m really hopeful that it’s a home run.
Yeah. It seems like it’s being done the right way. You can’t do better than Kevin Williamson at the helm. He wrote the first two movies, Scream 4… and now he’s directing. So you knew you had to be in good hands. How was it getting to collaborate with him again?
Oh, great. It’s like old friends, right? And Neve’s on set, and working with Neve and seeing her is great. I think that we’re all really hopeful that… look, I think the journey continuing, I think fans are gonna be excited. It’s got that vibe of like old school Scream, and so I just think we’re all really hopeful that we’re building what the fans will love and appreciate.
I spoke with David Arquette last week, and he mentioned that he was a bit disappointed that the casting news got out as it was meant to be a surprise. Was it the same with you?
Oh, yeah. Yeah. I was definitely not supposed to be announced until the trailer. But I think that we were all pretty conscious of the fact that, you know, once you start saying “Scream 7 shooting,” the people are gonna start paying attention to the general area. So sneaking me in and sneaking me out would’ve been very difficult. So eventually we broke the news ourselves before I got a chance to leak. So, it is what it is. It’s modern technology, and I don’t think anyone was unduly surprised. I’ll put it that way.
David Lynch passed away recently. How special was it getting to work with him on Twin Peaks: The Return? He is really one of the true masters of film that we’ve had, especially in American cinema.
Just the fact that he led with this sort of this charm and… in meditation they’ve talked about following your charm, and I feel like David had that innately. I think that he has moments I’m sure everyone would understand. He was mercurial in moments, right?
He was a funky cat. He had this real sense of joy about him and this real… I don’t know, he was a really lovely human being and a beautiful artist. And working with him was a treat because you realize you’re working with someone who is such an icon in cinema. That was… it was a real gift.
Actors are lucky to have one iconic role, but you’ve been having two or three iconic roles on your resume each decade. How has it been getting such a diverse group of fans? Because there are people who recognize you from Scream. Shaggy’s been this whole new generation as you continue to do the voice work. How has that experience been? People have such different touchstones for you.
Matthew Lillard: You know, it’s nothing but luck. You find something like Five Nights of Freddy’s and you sort of never think you’re gonna have that experience again. And along comes this like, beautiful little gem and this fandom that is as voracious as any I’ve ever been involved with.
So, look, I don’t take it for granted. I know I’m lucky. I know I’m lucky as an actor. I know I’m lucky as a person. And I just as easily could never work again as getting these incredible roles. So there’s a lot of luck in it.
It’s a blessing and I don’t know, it’s random when you get cast. I’ve been in a lot of really terrible movies with lots of really terrible parts. But every now and then, I catch this little joy ride.
You mentioned Five Nights. The sequel’s coming out, and that was such a phenomenon. When they have a generational hit like that, they’re gonna be pumping a lot of budget to it. It’s gonna be bigger and better. So, is that what we can expect from this sequel? Everything amped up?
I think the storytelling’s been amped up a lot. I don’t feel like the budget’s gone through the roof. There are $250 million, $300 million movies out there, $500 million movies. I mean, God knows what Avengers cost, but we are certainly not that. We’re still sort of an independent little horror movie.
But I do think that the movie learned first time around, I think Scott, as a primary storyteller, listened to the audience. [It’s] what he does best. He knows that community so well. And I think that he’s responded with a script that… maybe it has more jump scares. Maybe it’s a little more action-packed. I don’t know. I’m not here to say “yes it is”, or “no it’s not.”
But I do think the fans are gonna love this next movie, and I think that they’re gonna be really excited come December.
Thanks to Matthew Lillard for taking the time to talk about Quest’s End Druid whiskey, Scream 7, and more.
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