Following a successful sequel to Scream early this year, the horror franchise is already set to continue with Scream 6, and the cast is currently being assembled. Just a day after we heard new casting news about the upcoming horror movie, another exciting actor has already joined the lineup. Scream 4’s Hayden Panettiere will be in the crossfire of Ghostface once again.
The Heroes actress has officially come aboard to reprise her role as Kirby Reed in the next Scream movie following her appearance in 2011’s Scream 4. So far, we know she’ll for sure join the other announced cast members: Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding and Jenna Ortega, each of which were newcomers to 2022’s Scream.
If you were paying close attention to the latest Scream film, it was actually already revealed that Panettiere had survived the events of Scream 4. In a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it moment when one of the characters is on YouTube watching a video criticizing Stab 8, there’s a related video called “Interview with Woodsboro Survivor Kirby Reed.” Some fans were already theorizing Kirby might return, but now it’s official!
The next Scream film is expected to begin filming this summer ahead of an early 2023 release date. The movie will reportedly pick up where the recent sequel left off, following Melissa Barrera and Jenna Ortega's Carpenter sisters, along with Mason Gooding’s Chad and Jasmin Savoy Brown’s Mindy leaving Woodsboro after the disturbing Ghostface killings to start a new chapter away from the recent horrors they experienced.
Kirby Reed is a fan-favorite in the Scream franchise, who was the lone survivor of the Second Woodsboro Murders, which Emma Roberts’ Jill Roberts was the mastermind/Ghostface of in that story. Jill was Kirby’s best friend (before she went on her Ghostface killing spree, of course) and the cousin of Neve Campbell’s Sidney Prescott. While Scream 4 shows Kirby being stabbed and bleeding out, per Panettiere’s contract, she was obligated not to die on-screen, thus perhaps creating this opportunity for her to return all these years later.
2022’s Scream brought back original Scream actors Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox and David Arquette, but only two of the three of the original cast members made it out alive. It’s currently unclear if more of these stars will once again come back to Scream or if the franchise is seeking to move forward without its core legacy characters, but we’d bet in the coming weeks, we’ll hear more Scream casting news. At the very least, Cox is looped in on the filming plans.
The sixth Scream film was officially announced in early February, just a few weeks after the fifth movie became a big hit at the box office. The upcoming Paramount sequel will once again see directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett taking on the horror franchise alongside writers James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick. We’ll keep you updated as details come ahead of the next Scream’s release date on March 31, 2023.
