I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel: Freddie Prinze Jr. is motivated to join the cast

Twenty-seven years after the release of the the slasher I Know What You Did Last Summer (watch it HERE) and twenty-six years after the follow-up I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (watch that one HERE), Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. might be reprising the roles of Julie James and Ray Bronson in a new sequel, which is set for a July 18, 2025 release date. When this project was first announced, Hewitt and Prinze were mentioned in the announcement like their involvement was a sure thing – but we’ve since found out that wasn’t the case, as they didn’t even start contract negotiations until long after that. Hewitt confirmed a couple of months ago that she was in talks to come back for the new film, and now Prinze has finally confirmed that he is as well, telling Us Weekly that he is “motivated” to close the deal.

Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge) is attached to direct the film from a screenplay by Leah McKendrick (M.F.A.), and McKendrick told Collider a while back that the new sequel will reckon with “some big ideas about hero and villain, right and wrong, how your skeletons come back to haunt you. And in the age of the internet and the age where fame is such a revered concept, the creation of TikTok and social media, who is Julie James in a world where there are no secrets anymore?“ McKendrick also said that when she went in to pitch her take to Sony, the most important things they wanted to hear about were “the accident, the event that kicks it off, and who the killer is.“

I Know What You Did Last Summer was directed by Jim Gillespie from a screenplay by Kevin Williamson that was inspired by a Lois Duncan novel. 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.

Prinze told Us Weekly, “Nothing’s a lock until there’s ink on paper, until the contract’s signed, but I’m definitely talking to them. And if we can make everything work — and I know they wanna make everything work, I know I wanna make everything work — then we’ll try and make it work. But we gotta make sure everyone’s schedules fit. Everybody has to be happy with the script. I know Jen Robinson, the director, and I like Jen Robinson very much as a director and as a person. I think people like her are the future of this business. So there’s a lot of good things that make me want to do the movie. I’m motivated, I know they’re motivated. I know both sides are trying to make it work. And hopefully we do.“

While we wait for Hewitt and Prinze to close their deals, we know that Camila Mendes (Riverdale), Madelyn Cline (Outer Banks), Sarah Pidgeon (Tiny Beautiful Things), Tyriq Withers (Atlanta), and Jonah Hauer-King (The Little Mermaid) have signed on to star in the film.

Are you hoping to see Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. in the new I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel? Let us know by leaving a comment below.