Original I Know What You Did Last Summer Star Finally Confirmed to Join New Installment

I Know What You Did Last Summer star Freddie Prinze Jr. is officially confirmed to be coming back for Sony’s upcoming sequel film. Prinze Jr. played the character of Ray Bronson in the original 1997 film (an adaptation of Lois Duncan’s hit YA horror novel) and returned for its 1998 sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer; his character was the blue-collar boyfriend of Julie James (franchise star Jennifer Love Hewitt), who provided some red-herring misleads before ultimately being validated as a noble guy. 

It was originally reported that both Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt were in talks to return for the I Know What You Did Last Summer “franchise continuation project”; Prinze is the first to make it official. Fans will now be looking at Hewitt with laser-like focus to see if she also commits to the project. Having both her and Freddie Prinze Jr. back would give this new film the stamp of authenticity it needs to rekindle the fanbase. 

I Know What You Did Last Summer followed the story of four teens – timid girl Julie James (Hewitt), dockworker Ray Bronson (Prinze Jr.), Barry Cox (Ryan Phillippe), and beauty queen Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar)  – who hit a man while partying ad driving down the road one night, and made the dark decision to get rid of the body and cover up the crime. A year later, all four teens are in mental/emotional distress – which becomes peril when a mysterious killer begins stalking them one by one, making the impossible claim to know what the kids have done. 

This new installment has already snagged a young cast of actors, including  Madelyn Cline (Outer Banks), Tyriq Withers (Atlanta), Jonah Hauer-King (The Little Mermaid), and Tony Award-nominated Sarah Pidgeon. Riverdale star Camila Mendes was originally cast in a major role but had to drop out due to scheduling conflicts.  Bodies Bodies Bodies star Chase Sui Wonders was reportedly in talks to replace her. 

Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (Do Revenge) is directing the film and has already revealed to fans that this new installment will indeed acknowledge the previous two films. That said, it’s still unclear whether or not this new I Know What You Did Last Summer film is a traditional threequel or more like a “requel” that will use legacy characters and the same continuity to hand the franchise reigns to a new set of characters, while slightly updating the franchise framework. That approach has worked out for the Scream franchise, another breakout horror franchise of the ’90s. 

The new I Know What You Did Last Summer has a release date of July 18, 2025.

via Deadline