Kirby IS In The Scream 6 Trailer (You Just Missed Her!)

The first trailer for Scream 6 is out, and many viewers were disappointed when series favorite Kirby Reed didn’t make an appearance – but she actually is in the trailer. The brief teaser trailer shows Jenna Ortega’s Tara Carpenter and her friends on a subway before being attacked by Ghostface, confirming the return of several characters from Scream 5. However, the first Scream 6 trailer also confirmed the return of Scream 4’s Kirby Reed in a very brief shot.
SCREENRANT VIDEO OF THE DAY

Kirby Reed, played by Hayden Panettiere, first appeared in 2011’s Scream 4, with the character being the best friend of the cousin of series star Sidney Prescott. Kirby is a horror movie-obsessed teen, continuing the Scream franchise’s archetype that has been around since the original film. At the end of Scream 4, Kirby is stabbed in the stomach by Charlie, one of the film’s killers, with her fate left unconfirmed. This changed in 2022’s Scream 5, in which a YouTube video titled “Interview With Woodsboro Survivor Kirby Reed” can be seen, acting as an Easter egg confirming Kirby is alive.

Although not explicitly shown, a small part of Kirby Reed can be seen in the Scream 6 trailer. In one of the shots featuring Tara, the shoulder of a blonde girl in a leather jacket can be seen on the left side of the screen. This lines up with leaked Scream 6 set photos showing that Hayden Panettiere will return in Scream 6.

While one shot of a character’s shoulder and hair may be unassuming, another shot all but confirms that the person in question is Kirby Reed. In another shot showing Tara in the Scream 6 trailer, a nun can be seen in the foreground, covering the left side of the screen. Some have theorized that the studio put this nun here to cover up Kirby Reed, preventing her Scream 6 return from being officially spoiled in the trailer. The nun can’t be seen in any other shots in the trailer, making this theory even more likely.

The Scream 6 trailer is obviously hiding Kirby, and Paramount has good reason to keep her return a secret. In Scream 4, Kirby was a fan-favorite character, meaning that her Scream 6 return will be a big deal for longtime Scream fans. Although it’s already been spoiled by the leaked set photos, Paramount probably doesn’t want to officially reveal Kirby’s return until the first official trailer, or maybe even the movie. Instead of making her big reveal just a glimpse with no dialogue, the Scream 6 trailer is hiding Kirby’s return to give her a much grander entrance.