'Scream' star Hayden Panettiere says she 'willed' her character 'back into existence' after taking a 4-year hiatus from acting

• On Monday, Hayden Panettiere appeared on "Good Morning America" to promote her role in "Scream 6."
• Prior to this role, Panettiere had taken a four-year hiatus from acting to work on her "mental health."

Hayden Panettiere's "Scream" character is back — a revival Panettiere said she "willed" into existence.

In a Monday morning interview with "Good Morning America," the star told host Michael Strahan how she came to reprise the role of Kirby Reed in "Scream 6," saying she lobbied for the role herself.

"I hoped that Kirby was still alive. I willed her back into existence," she told Strahan. "I called them. I actually called them when I heard they were doing Scream 5 and I was like 'without me? Wait, hold on, I might still be alive and I could come in handy.'"

Panettiere's last appearance in the horror franchise was in 2011's "Scream 4." Her character's fate was unclear at the end of the film, but speculation that she might return was sparked when an Easter egg appeared in 2022's "Scream."

Prior to this film, Panettiere had taken a four-year hiatus from acting. Her last role was as Juliette Barnes in ABC's "Nashville," which ended in 2018.

"I did have to take those four years off, and thank God I did," she said. "I had to work on myself, my mental health and my physical health, spiritual health. And then when [Scream] popped up and it came back around, I was like 'I want to be part of that again.'"

This interview was Panettiere's first since her brother Jansen died of an enlarged heart at 28 in February.

At the end of the interview, Strahan gave the actress his condolences and Panettiere said: "He's right here with me."

"Scream 6," which also stars Courteney Cox, Dermot Mulroney, and Jenna Ortega, hits theaters on March 10.