Kirby is back! Don’t know if it will be fully loaded. Hayden Panettiere will be returning as queer icon Kirby Reed in the upcoming Scream 6. Plot details have not been fully released, but the companies said, according to The Hollywood Reporter, that the new feature “continues with the four survivors of the Ghostface killings as they leave Woodsboro behind and start a fresh chapter.”
In the events of 2022’s Scream (or 5cream), we see twenty-five years (in-universe) since Billy Loomis and Stu Macher went on their killing spree in Woodsboro, a high school student named Tara Carpenter is attacked by Ghostface and left hospitalized. This triggers her sister, Sam Carpenter, to return to Woodsboro and brings together the next generation of Scream victims. The sins of the father are immense.
Kirby appeared in Scream 4, one of the weaker Scream sequels, and was one of the shining characters. Kirby was a horror movie fan and the love interest of Charlie Walker. During a party, Ghostface attacks, and she hides in the basement with Sidney. Ghostface captures Charlie and forces Kirby to play a game to save his life. In typical bait-and-switch style, Kirby thinks she has won and unties Charlie, but (dun-dun) he stabs her in the stomach and reveals that he is the killer. In true sexist fashion, he scolds her for not liking him sooner. Very cringe.
Thankfully, she lives and can now make her return. There’s a glimpse of Kirby in the background of Scream 5 when one of the characters is looking at videos about the Ghostface murders, and a video Kirby is there. Melissa Barrera, Jasmin Savoy Brown, Mason Gooding, and Jenna Ortega will all be returning for this next installment, but there is no information about whom else will come back.
As someone who enjoyed the latest installment in the franchise, I’m excited to see what happens.
(via The Hollywood Reporter, featured image: Dimension Films)
