The original 1997 I Know What You Did Last Summer, based on the 1973 book of the same name, earned itself two sequels, though a new take on the material is on the way from director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson and writer Leah McKendrick. Given that the original movie already earned sequels, fans have been speculating about what this new entry will focus on, and while McKendrick is keeping a tight lid on the plot, she recently addressed what she appreciates about the original movie and how she aims to honor that, while also pointing out the contemporary elements she hopes to lean into.
“I will say that I think if you’re an OG fan like me and you, I think you’re gonna be happy. I think you’re gonna get it,” McKendrick shared with Collider. “I mean, it’s hot people doing questionable things, right? At its core, I think it really reckons 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?”
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The original story focuses on a group of friends who accidentally hit someone on the side of the road and, knowing what will happen if they go to the cops, they dispose of the body and keep the secret to themselves. A year later, these friends start being targeted by a mysterious figure who threatens them with clues claiming “I know what you did last summer.”
Following in the footsteps of Scream, the original I Know What You Did Last Summer similarly featured a highly sought-after cast, which included Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr., Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Ryan Phillippe. Hewitt and Prinze returned for the first sequel and the third entry pivoted away from the original cast entirely.
“I already feel like I’m saying too much, but I think at its core, if you watch the original, I don’t know if you’ve watched it recently, I obviously watched eight million times while working on it, but it’s fun,” the writer expressed. “It’s just a popcorn, wild ride. It’s campy at times, Jennifer Love Hewitt is so hot, Freddie Prinze Jr. is so hot. Sarah Michelle, Ryan, they’re so gorgeous. It’s like beautiful people behaving badly. You just can’t get enough of it. There’s a lot of that in this film.”
In 2021, Prime Video delivered a new adaptation of the source material, though the project wasn’t renewed for a Season 2.
Stay tuned for updates on the new I Know What You Did Last Summer.
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