Sarah Michelle Gellar Will Not Return for I KNOW WHAT YOU DID LAST SUMMER’s New Sequel

In the ‘90s, Scream led to a swath of teen ensemble horror franchises like Final Destination and I Know What You Did Last Summer. It’s now officially back into the game with last year’s hit movie and another film coming soon. So, it is not surprising that the franchise is inspiring others to dust off their dormant universes and return back for more gore. Deadline reports that an I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel will release on July 18, 2025.

In news that shouldn’t surprise anyone who has watched the first film, Sarah Michelle Gellar will not reprise her role as Helen Shivers in the new I Know What You Did Last Summer film. Gellar spoke to People and gave the very obvious reason why, saying that Helen is dead. And that’s what we indeed saw when the killer took her out in an alley as a parade marched by. Just because this film is a reboot doesn’t mean it will rewrite this universe’s history.

But, her hubby Freddie Prinze, Jr. is officially returning for the I Still Know What You Did Last Summer sequel and reprising his role as Ray Bronson. The jury is still out for Jennifer Love Hewitt but she is expected to return… and Brandy also wants in on this movie.

In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, Brandy basically says “I wanna be down” with the upcoming I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel (more of a reboot, maybe?) action. We do love us come Karla Wilson, who survived the events of I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.

“I need them to give me a call because I survived in that movie!” Brandy affirmed. “I came out in the end, bloodied up, ready to go. I did not die in that film… Jennifer, Freddie, hit me up.”

We don’t know if Brandy will be a part of it or not. But we do know that Camila Mendes of Riverdale fame won’t be in the I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot. According to Deadline, she’s going to be very busy with her new role as Teela in Masters of the Universe and the production dates between the two projects do not work.

i know what you did last summer camilla mendes and madelyn cline to star
Netflix/CW/Columbia Pictures

We will have to wait and see what this next terrible summer includes. 

According to The Hollywood Reporter, Madelyn Cline, Sarah Pidgeon, Tyriq Withers and Jonah Hauer-King are all in talks to star in the movie. Jennifer Kaytin Robinson is set to direct this sequel.

photo of jennifer love hewitt and freddie prinze jr as julie and ray in i know what you did last summer
Columbia Pictures

If the original stars do come back, the I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel will likely follow a format similar to what we saw in Scream (2022). Legacy characters like Julie James (I guess) and Ray Bronson will return to help newer people get through a horrific antagonist is a win for longtime fans and new ones, too. It would be interesting, though, considering that the last time we saw these I Know What You Did Last Summer characters, it seemed that the hooked killer was about to murder them. Of course, this could have simply been Julie’s bad dream.

Thankfully, a canceled fourth film with their confirmed deaths didn’t take place. If both Julie James and Ray Bronson come back for an I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel, it will be interesting to see if they are still together and what their lives are like decades later.

Originally published on February 7, 2023.