Scream 6 Confirmation Has Fans Hoping for Hayden Panettiere's Return

Earlier today came confirmation that the box office success of 2022's Scream, the fifth in the meta-slasher franchise, has prompted development on a sixth Scream movie to officially begin. Paramount Pictures and Spyglass Entertainment made the announcement today, confirming that directors Radio Silence (Ready or Not, V/H/S,) with Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett will return to the helm and James Vanderbilt (Zodiac) & Guy Busick (Ready or Not) will co-write the screenplay again. Production on the next movie is scheduled to begin this summer, presumably for a 2023 release, but one thing that remains unconfirmed is casting but fans have one specific demand in mind already.

The Scream franchise has been notable from the beginning for bringing back its legacy characters. Even 2011's Scream 4, despite introducing a new crop of survivors, saw the return of the original stars David Arquette, Courteney Cox, and Neve Campbell, all of whom were back for 2022's fifth movie. One character that was absent from the new movie however was fan-favorite Kirby Reed, played by Hayden Panettiere in the 2011 sequel, but what the movie did make clear is that Panettiere's character is still alive out there somewhere, and fans are demanding she return (a request that perhaps lines up with the commentary embedded into the new movie).

In a moment that lampoons YouTube accounts dedicated to tearing down major movie franchises, a blink-and-you'll-miss-it Easter egg on the side in Scream (2022) confirms Kirby's fate. On the side of the main video being played is a recommended video titled "Interview with Woodsboro Survivor Kirby Reed" and featuring a photo of Panettiere as the thumbnail. This Easter egg was immediately spotted by fans and has been what they're clinging to in hopes that she'll appear in the next movie, check out what fans are saying below.