A new group of friends is being terrorized by someone donning The Fisherman moniker in I Know What You Did Last Summer. The horror franchise, which kicked off in 1997, is loosely inspired by the Lois Duncan novel of the same name and generally centers on a group of young adult characters who attempt to cover up their involvement in a death, only for someone to begin stalking and terrorizing them a year later. I Know What You Did Last Summer brings the focus back to Southport, with a group of young adults turning to Jennifer Love Hewitt’s Julie James and Freddie Prinze Jr.’s Ray Bronson for help.

The new I Know What You Did Last Summer cast is led by Madelyn Cline as Danica, a bubbly beauty-queen-like character akin to Sarah Michelle Gellar’s Helen in the original; Chase Sui Wonders as Ava, a climate lawyer who’s become disillusioned in the year since the incident, and is akin to Julia; Jonah Hauer-King as Milo, Ava’s high school sweetheart with a laid-back personality; Tyriq Withers as Teddy, the so-called golden boy of southport and rich kid who broke off his engagement with Danica after the accident; and Sarah Pidgeon as Stevie, the outcast of the group who took to working at Ray’s Bar and formed a bond with him in the time since.

In honor of the movie’s release, ScreenRant interviewed Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Hauer-King, Sarah Pidgeon and Tyriq Withers to discuss I Know What You Did Last Summer. The cast recalled their and the production team’s efforts to recreate the slasher franchise’s most iconic moments, as well as their family-like bonding on the set, the horror movie tropes they loved getting to help bring to life in the legacy sequel, and their thoughts on being parodied by something like Scary Movie.

The Cast Were Saying I Know What You Did Last Summer’s Iconic Line “All The Time” On Set

They Also Tried To Recreate It In The Film On Multiple Occasions

Where the Scream franchise sees Ghostface ask his victims about their scary movie, and the Saw franchise has Jigsaw telling his captives he wants to play a life-threatening game, I Know What You Did Last Summer is best known for Jennifer Love Hewitt’s Julie yelling out “What are you waiting for?” after being worn down by The Fisherman’s mind games. Though the sequels didn’t see it return, the new cast certainly tried their hardest to find a way to bring it back for the legacy sequel, with Wonders recalling everyone saying it “all the time” on set.

After confirmation from Withers that there “were times where they would just have us try to say it” in any given scene, Pidgeon and Wonders recalled there is a moment very close to it in the film in which co-writer/director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson told the latter, “I want you to scream, ‘What are you waiting for?’ as loud as you can“. This became an especially humorous moment for her co-stars as “she didn’t tell the rest of the cast” Wonders would be doing so, with everyone watching as she “screamed [the line while] spinning around in circles“.

While it’s unclear if any of the new cast get to utter the line in the film, the I Know What You Did Last Summer trailer did at least confirm Hewitt’s Julie will bring it back in a heated confrontation with the new Fisherman. Even still, Hauer-King can’t help but find a sense of humor from the crew frequently saying it on set, recalling how when “things were moving a bit slowly” for an unclear reason, “Jen would walk on set and say, ‘What are we waiting for?’“.

The Group Had Fun Playing With Iconic Horror Tropes

“Milo’s Obsessed With His Phone.”

While original writer Kevin Williamson became known for his meta slasher commentary in the Scream movies, the I Know What You Did Last Summer series has still featured some iconic horror tropes to keep audiences hooked into their stories. In reflecting on their favorites to get to bring to life for the legacy sequel, Wonders began by sharing her love for “the classic” in which characters split up, with one in particular often saying something along the lines of “I’m just going to walk out into the woods to check on something“.

“Maddie has a line kind of like that,” Wonders recalled. “You guys have a situation like that, too —where you leave Maddie alone in a very ominous place. Why are you leaving someone alone in a graveyard? Obviously, you can’t split up in a graveyard.“

Both Withers and Pidgeon agreed that characters splitting up is “scary“, even though the latter denotes that “all of us do stuff by ourselves” in the film. Hauer-King goes on to humorously note that his character Milo is “obsessed with his phone“, laughing as he says that he “needs a full battery at all times” and that leads to some fun familiar genre beats in the legacy sequel.

The New Cast Had Some Heartwarming Moments With The Legacy Actors During Filming

“I’ll Get A Little Sappy Here…”

Much like Blumhouse’s Halloween trilogy and the recent Scream sequels before it, the new I Know What You Did Last Summer comes with the benefit of having legacy characters returning and interacting with the new cast. In addition to Hewitt and Prinze Jr., the slasher sequel also had original star Sarah Michelle Gellar involved behind the scenes as an unofficial creative consultant, working with Robinson to retain some of the lore and tone of the previous films to the new one rather than reviving her previously ᴅᴇᴀᴅ character.

In reflecting on their experience working with the original stars for the new film, the cast all found themselves bonding and becoming like a family, with Wonders recalling a moment during filming in which she “teared up” after Hewitt told her “You have the Julie James heart“. “It was very surreal just seeing them both acting together, and bringing back these characters that are 27 years old,” Wonders shared.

Withers went on to get “a little sappy” as he praised his experience with Prinze Jr., but not just as an actor, but also in “how much he loves his kids and his family“, feeling that “hit a chord” and “made me love him a thousand times more“. “I didn’t really expect that, because he’s such a great performer, and I think he’s only surpᴀssing that with how good of a dad he is,” Withers expressed.

Hauer-King echoed Withers’ praise of Prinze Jr. during their time on the I Know What You Did Last Summer set, praising the original star as he “takes his work very seriously“, even though he “doesn’t take himself very seriously“, striking the “perfect combination” in his presence on set. The star also praised Prinze Jr. for coming “super prepared” to set and wanting “to do a good job” and “give a good performance“, something he views “as a sign of respect” for the entire production, but can still “see the levity” and “ridiculousness” of the movie-making industry.

New I Know What You Did Last Summer Parodies Are Right Around The Corner

“…I Don’t Know If I Was Supposed To Say That…”

While still having a place in the genuine horror sphere, the original I Know What You Did Last Summer has been a source for parodies in other projects, particularly the Scary Movie franchise, with Wonders denoting how “the first 30 minutes” of the 2001 comedy sequel were “a direct lampoon” of the original Summer film. Looking to the future, the group not only expressed their excitement at the prospect of being parodied, but Withers, who just recently worked with Marlon Wayans on the Jordan Peele-produced horror-thriller Him, indicated that Scary Movie 6 will indeed pull from his legacy sequel.

I’m excited to see Scary Movie 6. Marlon Wayans, he told me he’s definitely trying to do that. Well, I don’t know if I was supposed to say that, but. [Laughs]

Stay tuned for and check out our other I Know What You Did Last Summer interviews with:

• Madelyn Cline
• Jennifer Love Hewitt
• Freddie Prinze Jr. & Co-Writer/Director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson

Source: ScreenRant Plus