Hayden Panettiere to reprise role for 'Scream 6,' first project since 2018

MANILA, Philippines — Hayden Panettiere will reprise her role as fan favorite Kirby Reed from the fourth "Scream" movie in the upcoming sixth entry of the slasher film franchise by the late legendary horror director Wes Craven.

Hayden's inclusion confirms that horror fan Kirby did indeed survive the Woodsboro killing spree by a new Ghostface in 2011's "Scream 4" amid speculations that she didn't, though in 2022's "Scream" an image of Kirby could be seen on a YouTube video with the attribution "Woodsboro survivor."

This will be Hayden's first acting role since finishing her long-running role in the musical soap opera series "Nashville" in 2018. Prior to that, Hayden appeared in "Lip Sync Battle" and "Chopped Junior" in 2016 as herself while archive footage of her Xion character was used in the 2017 "Kingdom Hearts HD 2.8 Final Chapters Prologue" video game compilation.

The actress is best known for her televisions roles in "Heroes" as well as Disney movies like "Remember the Titans" and "Ice Princess."

Joining Hayden for the untitled "Scream 6" are four of the survivors from the last film — Melissa Barrera's Sam (revealed to be the daughter of the original Ghostfase Billy Loomis), Jenna Ortega as Sam's sister Tara, and Mason Gooding and Jasmin Savoy Brown as twin nephew and niece of Jamie Kennedy's Randy Meeks from the first two "Scream" movies.

No plot details have been revealed nor how Hayden's Kirby will be involved, but the upcoming movie will follow the four survivors as they leave Woodsboro to start a fresh chapter.

The sixth "Scream" begins production later this summer and is set for a release date of March 2023. Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett both return to direct while James Vanderbilt and Guy Busick will again write the script.

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