I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel director confirms I Still Know is still canon

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… and while we’ve seen other franchises bring back original stars while ignoring previous sequels, this new film’s director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge) has confirmed that the events of I Still Know What You Did Last Summer are canon and will be part of Julie and Ray’s back story in this sequel.

In response to an X post that said the new I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel “is reportedly ignoring previous sequels,” Robinson said, “It is definitely not. ISKWYDLS is canon. Hope this helps.” That said, it wouldn’t be surprising if this movie does ignore the poorly received direct-to-video sequel I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, which left Julie and Ray out but did feature a supernatural version of the killer from the first two movies.

Robinson will be directing 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.

Hewitt and Prinze are known to be in talks to return as Julie and Ray. While we wait for confirmation that their deals have closed, 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 glad to hear that the new I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel won’t be ignoring the events of I Still Know What You Did Last Summer? Let us know by leaving a comment below.