Hayden Panettiere contacted directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett about bringing Kirby Reed back for Scream VI.
Throughout five movies (soon to be six), plenty of characters have met their end at the hands of Ghostface. Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere) was believed to be one of those characters, having been stabbed multiple times and left to bleed out, but an easter egg in Scream confirmed that she had survived. Hayden Panettiere will return as Kirby for Scream VI for another chance to face off against Ghostface, but the actress herself brought the idea to the directors.
Hayden Panettiere took a break from acting following the ABC series Nashville, and when the time came to return, Scream popped back into the picture. “I didn’t know what I wanted to do next,” Panettiere told Good Morning America. “I did have to take those four years off, and thank god I did. I had to work on myself — my mental health, my physical health, my spiritual health. And then when [‘Scream’] popped up and came back around, I was like, ‘I want to be a part of that again because I hoped that Kirby was still alive. I willed her back into existence and I called them.” Panettiere added, “I actually called them … when they were doing ‘Scream 5′ and I was like, “Without me?! Wait. Hold on. I might still be alive, and I could come in handy.’“
All the die-hard Kirby fans are likely thrilled to see the character return for Scream VI, and Hayden Panettiere was pumped that the sequel was moving the action to New York. “I’m a New Yorker, so I love that it came here,” Panettiere said. “When they tell you the rules of, like, staying safe, basically the number one rule is put yourself in a crowd. Make sure that you’re surrounded by people so that if somebody hurts you, somebody’s there to help. Well, apparently that is not the case. That can become just as dangerous, if not more dangerous, and it really could be anybody for any reason.” Will Kirby be fortunate enough to survive yet again? We’ll soon find out.
You can check out a review of Scream VI from our own JimmyO, who called the movie a “bloody good delight.” Scream VI will hit theaters on March 10th.