Twenty-five years later, we’re still trying to get to the bottom of what they did last summer. Deadline reported that a sequel to the hit ’90s slasher film I Know What You Did Last Summer is in the works at Sony, with stars Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt in talks to reprise their roles. The sequel is set to be helmed by Do Revenge director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, with a script from Leah McKendrick. Neal H. Moritz, who produced the original film, is in talks to return as a producer.
Directed by Jim Gillespie, written by Kevin Williamson, and loosely based on the novel of the same name by Lois Duncan, I Know What You Did Last Summer debuted in theaters on October 17, 1997. It followed four teenage friends—Julie James (Love Hewitt), Ray Bronson (Prinze Jr.), Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), and Barry Cox (Ryan Phillipe)—as they evaded a hook-wielding stalker one year after accidentally killing a man on the night of their high school graduation. The slasher film also co-starred The Big Bang Theory’s Johnny Galecki and the late Anne Heche.
I Know What You Did Last Summer was a certified hit that earned $125 million at the box office, helped establish a slasher revival alongside the Scream franchise, and launched the careers of its four relatively unknown stars. It spawned two sequels, 1998’s I Still Know What You Did Last Summer and 2006’s direct-to-video I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer. An I Know What You Did Last Summer television series lasted for one season on Amazon Prime in 2021; the franchise’s four original stars previously reunited to surprise the new cast at a virtual New York Comic Con panel.
As of yet, no plot details have been released. But we can assume that the revival was spurred in part by the success of the recent Scream reboot, which paired original franchise stars like Neve Campbell with a new crop of talent like Wednesday breakout Jenna Ortega. The forthcoming I Know What You Did Last Summer will also reportedly seek to “pass the torch” from one generation to the next. Deadline writes that Robinson, who helmed the ’90s-influenced Netflix teen movie Do Revenge and was a writer on Marvel’s Thor: Love and Thunder, came up with the idea for the remake with McKendrick, which Sony execs reportedly received enthusiastically.
Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt did not immediately respond to Vanity Fair’s requests for comment. But in January of 2022, Prinze tweeted from his since-deleted account that he’s been itching to return to horror. “I wanted to make another horror movie ever since IKWYDLS wrapped,” he tweeted. “Never found the right one but I think this year it’s gonna happen.”
