Original I Know What You Did Last Summer Star Has Bluntly Hilarious Answer to Their Return

With a new I Know What You Did Last Summer on the horizon, fans have wondered how many members of the original cast could be making appearances, but don’t count on seeing Sarah Michelle Gellar reprise her role of Helen Shivers. The reason, as the actor bluntly addressed, is because her character died. While it might seem obvious that Gellar wouldn’t be showing up in the sequel, with various beloved franchises all taking their own approaches to reviving dormant properties, there could possibly have been a world in which Helen survived the events of the 1997 movie or potentially appeared in a flashback, yet it sounds as though neither of those avenues will be explored. The new I Know What You Did Last Summer currently has a release date of July 18, 2025.

When asked by PEOPLE about her possible return, Gellar hilariously confirmed, “I am dead.” The actor did confirm, however, that she won’t be entirely absent from the production, as her husband Freddie Prinze Jr. is set to reprise his role of Ray Bronson. She pointed out, “Well, I mean, my husband is in the movie, my best friend wrote and directed it, [so] I think there’s a pretty good chance I will go to that premiere.”

The original I Know What You Did Last Summer was based on the 1973 Lois Duncan novel of the same name, which saw a group of friends accidentally hit a man with their car. Taking him for dead, they dispose of the body, only for them to be targeted by a tormentor a year later. The movie earned the 1998 sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, the 2006 sequel I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, and a Prime Video reboot TV series in 2021.

The new movie is said to be a sequel to the first two entries, as the third film pivoted into a more supernatural realm. The new movie is being directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, with Gellar joking that she has an “unofficial” job in the project, due to her relationship with the filmmaker.

“My best friend is directing it, so we joke that I have an unofficial job, which is I am continuity,” Gellar pointed out. “So I’m always the one telling her, ‘Well, that would happen, or that wouldn’t happen with those characters,’ so I do have kind of an unofficial job title.”

Joining Prinze in the new film is original star Jennifer Love Hewitt, reprising her role of Julie James from the first two movies. Newcomers to the franchise include Chase Sui Wonders (Bodies Bodies Bodies), Madelyn Cline (Outer Banks), Tyriq Withers (Atlanta), Jonah Hauer-King (The Little Mermaid), and Tony Award-nominated Sarah Pidgeon.

Star of the first sequel Brandy Norwood has expressed her interest in returning to the series, though with how few details have been released about the upcoming project, it’s unclear if her character would have any potential involvement in the narrative.

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

What do you think of the actor’s remarks? Contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter or on Instagram to talk all things Star Wars and horror!