Updated

Updated · Variety · Aug 18

Tim Kring Pays Tribute to Hayden Panettiere, Dead at 36, as 'Heroes' Creator Mourns Breakout Star

Updated

Updated · Variety · Aug 18

Tim Kring Pays Tribute to Hayden Panettiere, Dead at 36, as 'Heroes' Creator Mourns Breakout Star

Q: What future projects were Tim Kring and Hayden Panettiere secretly planning before her tragic and sudden death at 36?

There is no evidence that Tim Kring and Hayden Panettiere were “secretly planning” any specific future project together. What Kring actually said in his tribute is much narrower: a few years after *Heroes* ended, he checked with Panettiere’s agent about her availability for “another project,” and Panettiere called him directly to say he did not need to go through her agent in the future. He did not identify the project, describe its format, or say that anything was actively in development. The available reporting therefore supports only that Kring had at some point considered her for an unspecified project and that Panettiere was open to working with him again. There is no confirmed reporting of a planned *Heroes* revival, reunion, film, or any other concrete collaboration between them before her death. More broadly, separate coverage indicated Panettiere had spoken publicly this year about wanting to continue acting after recent projects including *Amber Alert* and *Sleepwalker*. But those reports concern her general career plans, not a documented joint project with Kring. So the factual answer is that no secret project has been substantiated; the only confirmed detail is Kring’s recollection of inquiring about her availability for an unnamed future project.

3 articles · Updated · Variety · Aug 18

Tim Kring said Hayden Panettiere's death at 36 left him remembering a "singularly talented actor" who elevated scenes on NBC's "Heroes" far beyond the page.
At 16, Panettiere won the role of Claire Bennet immediately, Kring wrote, praising her unusual mix of professionalism, emotional range and instinctive grasp of drama, humor and pathos.
Kring recalled Panettiere crying intensely through 12 takes in a row, then instantly returning to joking and texting between shots — a control he said amazed the cast and crew.
From 2006 to 2010, "Heroes" became an early hit with Panettiere as a breakout star, though Kring said she stayed grounded, embraced the ensemble and remained kind long after the show ended.