We’re just four days out from Ghostface’s next killing spree in Scream VI, and for a franchise that built itself on the subversion of horror clichés, one has to wonder just how far a whole franchise can go with such an approach as clichés become non-clichés and the unexpected becomes the expected. We’ll ultimately just have to wait and see, but it managed to get up to six movies, with this latest venture breaking the two-hour mark, so perhaps that counts for something.
One of horror’s many rules, as made famous by the Meeks family, is that you always need to shoot the killer in the head, otherwise they’ll come back. What Randy and Mindy seem to have left out, however, is that this doesn’t just need to apply to the killer, and one Hayden Panettiere took full advantage of this loophole to will Kirby Reed back into the Scream franchise.
During an interview on Good Morning America, Panettiere revealed that she had been vouching for the return of Kirby, her character from Scream 4, ever since the fifth Scream film was confirmed, despite seemingly meeting her fate at the hands of Charlie during the fourth film.
When it popped up and it came back around, I was like, ‘I want to be a part of that again!’ I hoped that Kirby was still alive, I willed her back into existence. And I called them! I actually called them when I heard 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.
Luckily, Charlie didn’t stab her in the head, meaning Kirby could ultimately be cleared for a comeback, which she’ll now be making in Scream VI.
It’s unclear how Kirby might get involved in Ghostface’s New York rampage, but if we take notes from the classic Stab… er, Scream formula, a legacy character needs to fall victim to the killer, so unless Gale Weathers’ time has come, Panettiere’s return to the franchise may not be terribly different from her debut.
Scream VI will release to theaters on March 10.