It looks like Ghostface is becoming as unstoppable as the likes of Freddy Krueger and Michael Myers, as Scream 6 has officially been confirmed. Throughout the five Scream movies, Ghostface dispatches Woodsboro teens left, right, and center. But even 11 years on, and fans are asking, is Kirby from Scream 4 alive?
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Warning: There are major spoilers ahead for Scream 4 and Scream (2022)!
Scream 4 was released in 2011, 10 years after the original Scream trilogy ended. This time, we return to Woodsboro, where final girl Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell) is promoting her an autobiographical book.
However, being back in Woodsboro means that some ghosts are about to come out of the closet, and soon, a new Ghostface killer goes on the rampage, killing the friends of Sidney's cousin, Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts).
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Dewey Riley (David Arquette) and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox) make a comeback, while new characters include Charlie Walker (Rory Culkin), Judy Hicks (Marley Shelton), and Kirby Reed (Hayden Panettiere).
Kirby Reed is in many ways the "Randy" replacement here. Randy Meeks (Jamie Kennedy) was killed off in Scream 2, although Wes Craven still managed to figure out a way to utilize him in Scream 3 using a video recording.
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Kirby is a charismatic film buff, and while Scream 4 is generally considered the worst in the series so far, her character is the biggest takeaway, as fans took to her instantly. She has since become one of the most beloved in the series.
In the third act of Scream 4, we find out who the Ghostface killer is - it's actually the main character, Jill Roberts, Sidney's cousin. She wants the same infamy her cousin has, and has been helped by Charlie Walker, a second Ghostface killer.
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But before the reveal, things don't go too well for Kirby. When Charlie's life is on the line, with Ghostface quizzing Kirby on horror trivia over the phone, Kirby rushes outside to save him. However, it is revealed that Charlie is a killer.
Charlie proceeds to stab Kirby in the stomach, before leaving her for dead outside in the garden. And that's the last time we ever see her character in Scream 4. Needless to say, fans were not happy at the time.
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However, it has long been speculated that her character would return, especially as her fate was so ambiguous. Even the late Wes Craven himself once hinted that Kirby Reed is indeed alive and well.
Her character sadly did not return for Scream (2022), as that film instead chooses to focus on an entirely new generation of teens, ones who have grown up with several Stab movies (it's kind of the whole point of the movie).
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But just because Kirby Reed doesn't star in Scream (2022), that doesn't mean she doesn't make a very small appearance. In fact, this blink-and-you'll-miss-it Easter egg confirms that her character is very much alive and well.
When Richie Kirsch (Jack Quaid) is watching a YouTube video which is talking about the latest (poorly received) Stab movie, among the video thumbnails on the right hand-side, you can actually see Kirby Reed, sporting long blonde hair!
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The video is titled "Interview with Woodsboro Survivor Kirby Reed!!", which confirms that Kirby Reed did not die in Scream 4. If you're an eagle-eyed viewer who saw this while watching Scream (2022), then you're already a step ahead.
But as this is the only reference to her character in the entire movie, you might be wondering whether the filmmakers put it there to reassure fans of the character, or for another purpose entirely.
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Well, you'll be very pleased to know that it was recently confirmed that Hayden Panettiere will actually be reprising her role as Kirby Reed in next year's Scream 6, which suggests that this Easter egg was actually a bit of foreshadowing.
Exactly how her character will return remains to be seen, but Kirby Reed fans need not fear. Well, actually, you probably should be worried. Just look what happened to Dewey in Scream (2022), and he'd survived four previous movies...
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Production for Scream 6 begins in Canada in June.
Scream 6 stars Jenna Ortega (Tara Carpenter), Melissa Barrera (Sam Carpenter), Mason Gooding (Chad Meeks), Jasmin Savoy Brown (Mindy Meeks), Courteney Cox (Gale Weathers), Neve Campbell (Sidney Prescott), and Hayden Panettiere (Kirby Reed).
It will be released in theaters on March 31, 2021.
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