I Know What You Did Last Summer is about to get a new sequel with a new cast and its two main legacy characters, through which it’s officially fixing the second movie’s ending, but risks repeating a huge legacy sequel mistake. Despite some failures, the horror genre continues to thrive with reboots and legacy sequels, through which it has brought back to life franchises that had seemingly ended years ago. Among the most exciting additions to this trend is I Know What You Did Last Summer, which is returning after a forgotten direct-to-video sequel in 2006 and a failed TV show in 2021.

Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, the new I Know What You Did Last Summer movie follows the blueprint of legacy sequels with a new, younger cast and the main characters from the first two movies: Ray (Freddie Prinze Jr) and Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt). Plot details about the new I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel are still unknown, but the most recent tease from Prinze Jr. makes a key reveal linked to the second movie. However, this is also reinforcing the risk of the new movie repeating the worst legacy sequel trend with its returning characters.

I Know What You Did Last Summer’s Legacy Sequel Solves The Second Movie’s Ambiguous Ending

I Still Know What You Did Last Summer Had A Final Surprise At The End

Despite the lack of plot details about the upcoming I Know What You Did Last Summer movie, it’s expected to follow the same premise of the previous movies: a group of teenagers involved in an accident that has deathly consequences for them some time later. As some of the biggest horror reboots and legacy sequels have opted to continue the events of the franchise’s first movie and ignore the rest of the sequels, there were doubts about whether I Know What You Did Last Summer would follow those steps or not.

Robinson revealed on Twitter/X in July 2024 that I Know What You Did Last Summer won’t ignore the previous movies and that I Still Know What You Did Last Summer is still canon. While this is exciting as it makes it possible for Brandy to reprise her role as Karla, it also raises questions due to its ending. I Still Know What You Did Last Summer saw Ray and Julie killing Ben Willis (Muse Watson) and his son Will (Matthew Settle), who helped him set Julie up. However, right at the end, Willis appears underneath Julie’s bed and pulls her under the bed.

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The lingering question was whether this would be explained as a nightmare or if Ben Willis truly survived, somehow. Now, Freddie Prinze Jr. has solved this big mystery while sharing who the leads of the new I Know What You Did Last Summer movie will be. Speaking at the Scale Talk Podcast with David Miniatures, Prinze Jr. shared that Julie and Ray aren’t the main characters at all because “that guy’s ᴅᴇᴀᴅ”, referring to Ben Willis. This means the final scene in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer is a dream, and the next villain won’t be Ben Willis.

I Know What You Did Last Summer’s Legacy Characters Might Not Survive The Sequel

Ray & Julie Are At Huge Risk For Being Legacy Characters

Giving the spotlight to a younger generation in a horror legacy sequel is one of the best decisions, but these sequels have also proven this isn’t exactly good news for the legacy characters. It makes sense for Ray and Julie not to be the lead characters in the new I Know What You Did Last Summer movie as their story ended with Ben and Will’s deaths in the second movie, but they will have to have some connection to the new generation to be brought back, even if in a smaller capacity.

However, as seen in movies like Scream and Texas Chainsaw Mᴀssacre (both released in 2022), being reᴀssigned as a supporting character doesn’t exactly mean safety for legacy horror characters. Dewey (David Arquette) was killed in Scream 2022, Gale almost died in Scream VI, Sally was killed after a very brief appearance in Texas Chainsaw Mᴀssacre (2022), and Chris MacNeil was left blind in The Exorcist: Believer.

The track record of legacy horror characters in sequels isn’t the best, giving enough reasons to worry about Ray and Julie… but mostly Ray. It’s unlikely the I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel would choose to kill its Final Girl, but Ray might not be so lucky. Ray’s death could further motivate Julie to get involved in catching the new killer, though it could also be controversial as she and Ray deserve a happy ending after everything they went through together.

How I Know What You Did Last Summer Can Be Different From Recent Horror Legacy Sequels

I Know What You Did Last Summer Can Still Avoid Legacy Sequels’ Clichés

I Know What You Did Last Summer is facing some challenges as it arrives after many other legacy sequels have succeeded, failed, and established certain trends and clichés. One of the biggest trends it has to avoid is reusing the story of one of the previous movies to the point where everything, mostly the villain’s reveal, is predictable. There are things I Know What You Did Last Summer has to take from the first movies to fit the franchise, but it has to be its own story with its own lore.

A big way in which the new I Know What You Did Last Summer movie can stand out from other legacy sequels is by allowing Ray and Julie to live. Ray and Julie can have a mentor-like role in the sequel without being directly involved in the main conflict and being a target of the new killer. I Know What You Did Last Summer is facing big challenges, but it can still avoid the most tiring legacy sequel trends.

Source: Scale Talk Podcast with David Miniatures.