Hayden Panettiere will reprise her role as Kirby Reed for the upcoming “Scream” sequel set to start production this summer for a 2023 release…
Hayden Panettiere is ready to “Scream” again.
Following a very brief cameo — via a YouTube video shown in the latest “Scream” sequel released in 2022 — Panettiere will reprise her role as Kirby Reed after first playing the character in 2011’s “Scream 4.”
In that sequel, Kirby was close friends with Jill Roberts (played by Emma Roberts), who was later revealed to be one of the two killers behind the Ghostface mask. Kirby seemingly met her demise after she ran afoul of Jill’s other half Charlie Walker (played by Rory Culkin) when he revealed himself to be one of the killers by stabbing her in the stomach.
While it appeared that Kirby was dead, the directors behind the recent “Scream” sequel confirmed the character didn’t actually die after adding in the YouTube video that featured an interview with one of the survivors of the last Woodsboro massacre.
That obviously opened the door for Panettiere to actually rejoin the franchise and now she’s officially back while joining Melissa Barrera, Jenna Ortega, Jasmin Savoy Brown and Mason Gooding, who are all returning from “Scream” in 2022.
There’s still no official word on other legacy cast members returning including Neve Campbell, who has said she would consider another sequel playing Sidney Prescott if the script and the story were appealing to her. She signed onto the most recent “Scream” film with belief in the script and the directors, who were the first creative team to lead the franchise following the death of Wes Craven.
Plot details remain a mystery outside of this new “Scream” taking place outside of Woodsboro with the four remaining survivors from the previous film looking for a fresh start in new surroundings. Obviously, a killer or killers has other ideas.
Beyond her role in “Scream 4,” Panettiere first came to prominence through her role on the NBC series “Heroes” before also starring in the music based series “Nashville.”
“Scream 6” — not the official title — is expected to get into production this summer in Canada with the release date already set for March 31, 2023.
