We saw Hayden Panettiere’s character Kirby Reed get stabbed in Scream 4, but it was such an underwhelming “kill” for a character viewers had come to love, Scream fans held on to hope for years that Kirby had actually survived. An Easter egg in the new Scream movie that was released earlier this year confirmed that Kirby was still alive, and a couple months ago it was announced that Panettiere will be reprising the role in the upcoming Scream 6. In a new interview with Good Morning America, Panettiere said as much as she could about the return of Kirby.
First, she revealed that she reached out to the filmmakers to help make Kirby’s return happen:
I called them up myself and was like, ‘So, you guys don’t happen to want to bring Kirby back, do you?’ I wanted to be in it that badly.”
The interviewer then asked if Panettiere could say whether or not Kirby makes it past the first kill in the movie. She didn’t think she could answer that specific question, but she did say,
I don’t think anyone’s going to be disappointed.”
Scream 6 is coming to us from the same creative team that was behind this year’s Scream movie, directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett and screenwriters James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. This one will show us what happens when
the four survivors of the Ghostface killings leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter.
Those four survivors are the Scream 2022 characters played by returning stars Melissa Barrera (as Samantha Carpenter), Jasmin Savoy Brown (as Mindy Meeks-Martin), Mason Gooding (as Mindy’s brother Chad Meeks-Martin), and Jenna Ortega (as Sam’s sister Tara Carpenter). Franchise regular Courteney Cox is reprising the role of Gale Weathers. Dermot Mulroney, Jack Champion, Liana Liberato, Devyn Nekoda, Josh Segarra, and Henry Czerny have also been cast in unspecified roles. At this point, we don’t know if Neve Campbell is back at Sidney Prescott or not. She has said she wouldn’t be back, but rumors persist.
Vanderbilt is producing Scream 6 with Paul Neinstein and William Sherak for Project X Entertainment. Original Scream screenwriter Kevin Willamson serves as executive producer alongside Chad Villella, Ron Lynch, Cathy Konrad, Marianne Maddalena, and Spyglass’s Gary Barber and Peter Oillataguerre.
Set in New York City, Scream 6 is currently filming in Montreal. The film is scheduled to reach theatres on March 31, 2023.
The latest Scream is now streaming on the Paramount Plus service, and a 4K UHD digital version can be purchased at THIS LINK. The DVD can be ordered HERE, you can get the Blu-ray HERE, and the 4K UHD disc is HERE. Scream (2022) also received a double feature release where it’s packaged with the original Scream from 1996. You can get the double feature on Blu-ray HERE and on 4K UHD at THIS LINK.
Are you looking forward to seeing Hayden Panettiere play Kirby Reed again in Scream 6? Let us know by leaving a comment below.