hayden panettiere
Hayden Panettiere, pictured at the 2014 Emmy Awards, likely won't return for "Heroes Reborn" if the latest trailer is to be believed. Reuters

Hayden Panettiere plays country star Juliette Barnes on "Nashville" currently, but in 2006, she was just a cheerleader named Claire. "Save the cheerleader, save the world," was the tagline that helped launch "Heroes," so it would make sense if Claire is somehow written into "Heroes Reborn," the spinoff series launching this fall on NBC. However, it looks like Claire didn't have much of a future.

According to various reporters who attended the NBC Upfronts presentation, a trailer for "Heroes Reborn" showed that Claire is dead.

Of course, fans have seen Claire die several times. Her powers included rapid cell regeneration, meaning that her body would repair itself whenever her neck was broken or she walked through fire. Once, she even healed in the middle of an autopsy. It was widely thought that decapitation or removal of her brain would be the only things that could prevent her regeneration, and it seems that may have happened.

While Claire's death could have been faked, we're thinking this might be the real deal since Panettiere has other commitments. She is a lead on ABC's "Nashville," which was just renewed for Season 4, and she is a new mom. It doesn't seem likely that Claire will be around for at least the first season of "Heroes Reborn."

When news of the revival series broke last year, Panettiere told Cosmopolitan that she hadn't been contacted by NBC. She found out about the show through a family member. "Well, it was a shock to me, and, in fact, I believe I became privy to that through my cousin," Panettiere explained. "She sent me a text message and told me about it, and, I mean, we had nothing, nothing to do with it; it will definitely be interesting to see how they reinvent that."

Claire's father, however, is a different story. Noah Bennet (Jack Coleman) was shown in the trailer (which still hasn't been released to the public) and in the sneak peek below. According to IGN, in the full-length trailer, he opens an envelope to find his famous horn-rimmed glasses. In the teaser video below, he wears his specs as he watches someone seemingly control the aurora borealis as Zachary Levi's new character watches. Check out the "Heroes Reborn" teaser below:

"Heroes Reborn" has no official premiere date, but it is on NBC's fall schedule in the 8 p.m. timeslot on Thursdays. Are you upset that Claire appears to be dead? Or do you not really believe it? Sound off in the comments section below!

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