It’s hard to believe it’s been 11 years since Scream 4 debuted in theaters. Not only did the movie bridge the 11-year gap between the third and fourth installment and bring back the iconic characters of Sidney Prescott (Neve Campbell), Dewey Riley (David Arquette), and Gale Weathers (Courteney Cox), it also introduced a cast of younger characters such as Jill Roberts (Emma Roberts), Charlie Walker (Rory Culkin), and fan-favorite character Kirby, played by Hayden Panettiere.
While the fourth installment may not have soared to the same heights as the original movie, nor its 2022 sequel, it is still regarded by fans as a treasured installment. It breathed new life into the horror genre once again, leaning heavily into the use of technology to take its meta self-awareness to an all-new level and steer the franchise into the 21st century.
It’s filled with all the twists and turns you’d expect from a Scream movie, plus a few more for good measure, but perhaps the the biggest twist of all was how much people fell in love with the character of Kirby. To this day, she’s considered one of the best characters in the franchise, which is saying something, considering she came around four films after the original.
With Scream 6 lurking around the corner, it’s time to take a look back on her storyline. Especially since she’ll be returning in the next movie.
But wait, didn’t Kirby die at the end of Scream 4?
After Sidney Prescott’s return to Woodsboro on the 16th anniversary of the original murders, a new killer(s) donning the Ghostface costume begins killing off Woodsboro High students. As the body count rises, Dewey and Gale work together to try and figure out who the new killer is, while Sydney works to protect her cousin Jill.
Kirby is introduced to us as one of Jill’s best friends. She’s sharp, snarky, and for lack of a better word, badass. In the film’s third act, Jill, Kirby, Charlie, and Robbie (Erik Knudsen) go to Kirby’s house, where Ghostface begins to terrorizes them.
Charlie is eventually taken and tied to a chair in the backyard — a call-back to Steve (Drew Barrymore’s boyfrend) from the first movie — and Ghostface dials Kirby up and tells her that the only way to save Charlie’s life is to answer horror movie trivia. She names iconic horror movies titles in rapid-fire succession — arguably the best scene in the film — and runs outside to untie Charlie from the chair.
Except, Charlie is one of the Ghostface killers and stabs Kirby in the stomach. She’s left to bleed out and die. However, those who paid close to attention to the movie’s sequel, Scream (2022) will have noticed a carefully-placed easter egg that confirms her survival.
In Scream (2022), the camera catches a glimpse of Richie’s (Jack Quaid) phone while he’s at the hospital watching Stab 8. The screenshot above shows a YouTube thumbnail with a picture of Kirby and the caption: “Interview with Woodsboro Survivor Kirby Reed.”
Kirby did in fact survive the Second Woodsboro Murders, also known as the “Woodsboro Massacre Remake” making her the sole survivor and likely a huge plot point going into Scream 6.
Panettiere herself confirmed the ambiguity of Kirby’s death in the Scream 4 Blu-ray’s commentary track with Wes Craven and Emma Roberts. “Now, by the way, can I confirm that in your contract with Bob (Bob Weinstein) you were not supposed to die onscreen, for sure?” Craven asked Panettiere.
“I wasn’t!” said Panettiere. “I spoke to him when I was out of the country and it was supposed to be this kind of, um, ‘oop we’ve got a heartbeat’ at the end of the film which…” Here Craven interjected to say, “But I noticed you never stop moving after your final scene, you’re still moving…”
“Well that’s what everyone says,” said Panettiere. “They always ask me, you know? My friends are like, do you die, do you die, and I was like well, you’re just going to have to wait. I never spill the beans, I always loved tempt – teasing them with it. And then at the end everyone’s like oh, I’m so disappointed that you died, and I said, but did I?… It is Hollywood, you never actually saw me die and if you never actually see me die…”
“You could live,” said Roberts. “Kirby’s indestructible too,” replied Panettiere.
Scream 6 is set to premiere in theaters on March 31, 2023, and thanks to Hayden Panettiere, so will Kirby Reed. Perhaps the return of the fan-favorite character will soften the blow of losing Neve Campbell as Sidney Prescott.