I Know What You Did Last Summer: Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr. returning for sequel

Twenty-six years after the release of the the slasher I Know What You Did Last Summer (watch it HERE) and twenty-five years after the follow-up I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (watch that one HERE), Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. are in talks to reprise the roles of Julie James and Ray Bronson in a new sequel! Deadline reports that Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge) will be directing the film from a screenplay by Leah McKendrick (M.F.A.).

Deadline explains that the idea for the new film came from Robinson and McKendrick, who blew studio execs away when they pitched this idea for a sequel last fall especially given the recent success of the Scream franchise. That film was recently relaunched with original cast members returning and the idea of bringing back original castmembers to draw in old school fans of the franchise while also adding fresh faces to relaunch the series was too good for the studio to pass up on. Another big factor was the recent success of Robinson’s Netflix pic Do Revenge, which was lauded for its throwbacks to late 90 pics like Cruel Intentions and was something execs knew Robinson could tap in to when developing the story. The studio also saw it important to not reboot the franchise but do a sort of “passing of the torch” type of sequel where original cast members are brought back while a new generation cast members are added to the ensemble, similar to films like Creed or another 90s horror classic Scream. Once the idea was pitched by Robinson and McKendrick, the next step was getting Hewitt and Prinze back on board, which the two were game for after hearing the pitch.

I Know What You Did Last Summer was directed by Jim Gillespie from a screenplay by Kevin Williamson. The film has the following synopsis: A year after running over a fisherman and dumping his body in the water, four friends reconvene when Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt) receives a frightening letter telling her that their crime was seen. While pursuing who he thinks is responsible for the letter, Barry (Ryan Phillippe) is run over by a man with a meat hook. The bloodletting only increases from there, as the killer with the hook continues to stalk Julie, Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr.).

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer was directed by Danny Cannon from a screenplay by Trey Callaway. The synopsis: A year after killing vengeful hit-and-run victim Ben Wills (Muse Watson), who gutted her friends with an iron hook, college student Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) is still shaken by the experience. When her roommate, Karla (Brandy), wins a vacation for four to the Bahamas, she plans to bring along her boyfriend, Tyrell (Mekhi Phifer), attractive Will (Matthew Settle) and Julie. At the resort, Julie starts receiving threatening notes and realizes Ben is still alive.

I assume Robinson and McKendrick’s I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel will ignore the events of the 2006 straight-to-video I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, which didn’t feature Hewitt or Prinze but did turn Ben Willis into a supernatural entity. There’s also no reason to acknowledge the short-lived I Know What You Did Last Summer Amazon series.

I have always been a fan of I Know What You Did Last Summer and I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, so I’m very glad to hear that Hewitt and Prinze are coming back for a proper sequel all these years later. What do you think of this news? Let us know by leaving a comment below.