Even though some fans may be disappointed that Julie and Ray are no longer together in the new I Know What You Did Last Summer movie, Freddie Prinze Jr. agrees that the characters should be divorced. While both Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt appear in the new slasher film, it primarily follows a new group of characters who are hunted by the Fishermen.

Chase Sui Wonders and Madelyn Cline lead the cast of the legacy sequel, which sees history repeat itself as their friend group accidently causes the death of a Southport resident. Even though anticipation was high for the sequel, many fans don’t agree with certain story decisions, which has led to plenty of negative reviews for I Know What You Did Last Summer.

One of these controversial story decisions was splitting up Julie and Ray, who were last seen as a happy couple at the end of 1998’s I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. However, in an interview with USA Today, Prinze Jr., who plays Ray, argued that having the characters be divorced made the most sense for the new movie. He said:

There was no way that they could be in a healthy relationship after what they went through.

What Freddie Prinze Jr.’s Comments Mean For I Know What You Did Last Summer

There’s Bad Blood Between Julie & Ray In The Slasher Movie

Along with Prinze Jr., I Know What You Did Last Summer’s director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson also believes it made the most sense for Julie and Ray to be divorced. Because of the trauma they both experienced, it wouldn’t have made sense for them to live happily ever after. In an interview with Vanity Fair, Robinson explained the dynamic between Julie and Ray in the new movie. She said:

It was very purposeful for me. It could have been a lot of exposition for Ray and Julie, a lot of scenes where it’s like, ‘We’re going to tell you exactly what happened over the last 27 years.’ But it was a conscious decision to not feel like I needed to over explain who Julie and Ray are. And let their performances and the subtext and the nuance of the work kind of give you the context clues that you need to understand how they feel about each other, where they are.

One of my favorite little Easter eggs is that picture of them on the docks you see in Julie’s house. If you notice, Ray’s head was cut out of it. That’s lived-in, that’s fun, that’s texture. I’m like, ‘Yeah, she cut his head out of the picture. That’s how she feels about him. That’s what happened.’

As Robinson points out, the new I Know What You Did Last Summer movie doesn’t spend a lot of time explaining how Julie and Ray’s relationship fell apart. However, it’s clear that they approached dealing with their trauma in drastically different ways. In the film, it’s mentioned that Ray didn’t want to seek therapy to discuss his trauma, which was a major reason why they eventually got divorced.

While Julie tried her best to distance herself from Southport and live a healthy life, Ray let his trauma build up. This helps to explain why Ray is revealed as one of the killers at the end of I Know What You Did Last Summer. Therefore, while fans wanted Julie and Ray to both be happy in the new film, that was never a realistic option for the creative team involved.

Our Take On Julie & Ray’s Relationship Status In I Know What You Did Last Summer

Julie & Ray’s Relationship Status Sets Up The Movie’s Twist

It would’ve made the new film much less interesting if Julie and Ray had been presented as a perfect couple. Therefore, I’m not upset about the decision to have them be divorced. Additionally, I think it was a bold choice to make Ray one of the killers in I Know What You Did Last Summer. However, this twist definitely could have been executed much better.

Obviously, it’s established that Ray neglected to seek counseling for his trauma, but we needed to learn more about his life since the original films for this shocking twist to work. Overall, I think I Know What You Did Last Summer tackled a lot of interesting ideas, including the complicated relationship status between Julie and Ray, but the script for the movie probably needed a few more rewrites to fine-tune everything.

Source: USA Today, Vanity Fair