Hayden Panettiere says return to Scream franchise felt like ‘coming home’ following personal struggles

The ‘Nashville’ and ‘Heroes’ star spoke to ‘The Independent’ two weeks after the death of her brother, Jansen

Hayden Panettiere has said returning to the Scream franchise felt like “coming home”.

The actor reprises her role as film buff Kirby Reed in the sequel Scream VI, and exclusively told The Independent that returning to something “familiar” was what she needed after time out of the spotlight.

“I took four years off and didn’t know what the right next move was,” she said. “Then Scream came along and I was like, ‘It’s perfect’. It was like going home. Like going home to a family.”

The 33-year-old praised her fellow cast members, including Jenna Ortega and Yellowjackets star Jasmin Savoy Brown, as well as Scream VI’s directors Matt Bettinelli-Olpin and Tyler Gillett. “They just created a family, just like it was on Scream 4.”

Panettiere first played Kirby in 2011’s Scream 4, where the character appeared to be murdered. Last year’s franchise reboot Scream, however, revealed that Kirby actually survived her encounter with that film’s Ghostface. In Scream VI, Kirby is re-introduced as an FBI agent, and someone determined to stop a new spate of Ghostface killings in New York City.

Panettiere spoke to The Independent just two weeks after the death of her brother Jansen, an actor and artist who died at the age of 28 on 19 February.

In a statement, Panettiere and her family revealed Jansen’s cause of death while asking for privacy to mourn their loss, writing: “Jansen’s heart could be seen in his eyes, and his charm in his brilliant, engaging smile; his soul in his masterful and revealing paintings, and the joy of life in his dry wit.”

Last year, Panettiere revealed that – following the end of her TV series Nashville – her decision to pause her acting career was partly motivated by a series of personal struggles, including alcoholism and an addiction to opioids.

She also discussed for the first time why she relinquished custody of her daughter to her former partner, boxer Wladimir Klitschko.

Scream VI, which stars Courteney Cox, Melissa Barrera and Dermot Mulroney, is in cinemas from 8 March.