Hayden Panettiere to Reprise Fan-Favorite Role in Scream 6

May 12, 2022

11 years after the theatrical release of Scream 4, Golden Globe nominee Hayden Panettiere is officially returning to the blockbuster horror franchise. The Hollywood Reporter brings word that Panettiere has signed on to reprise her fan-favorite role as Kirby Reed in Paramount Pictures’ upcoming sixth Scream installment. Production is expected to begin sometime this summer.

Panettiere’s casting after it was recently confirmed that the franchise’s newest set of Ghostface survivors, Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, and Jenna Ortega, are all reprising their Scream 5 roles in the next film.

Set for a March 31, 2023 release date, Scream 6 will also see the directors of the 2022 film Scream return, with Radio Silence’s Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett stepping back into the franchise after the success of the fifth film. The next installment will reportedly continue with “the four survivors of the Ghostface killings as they leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter.”

The latest installment starred returning vets Neve Campbell, Courteney Cox, David Arquette, and Marley Shelton. They were joined by franchise newcomers Jack Quaid (The Boys), Melissa Barrera (Vida), Jenna Ortega (The Babysitter: Killer Queen), Mason Gooding (Booksmart), Dylan Minnette (13 Reasons Why), Kyle Gallner (Ghosts of War), Jasmin Savoy Brown (The Leftovers) and Mikey Madison (Better Things).

The first film, released in 1996, was a surprise smash upon its debut, helping to revive the horror genre for the decade and becoming the highest-grossing slasher movie of all time until it was dethroned by last year’s Halloween reboot. The first’s success spawned a franchise that includes three sequels, the first of which remained equally as successful as the first while the previous two saw middling box office returns and mixed reviews.