Warning: This post contains MAJOR spoilers for the new I Know What You Did Last Summer.Freddie Prinze Jr. breaks down his reaction to Ray’s shocking story in the new I Know What You Did Last Summer. For the Jennifer Kaytin Robinson-directed legacy sequel, now in theaters, Prinze Jr. returns alongside fellow original star Jennifer Love Hewitt, with the two reviving their characters, Ray Bronson and Julie James, respectively.

As with the first I Know What You Did Last Summer, the sequel follows a group of friends who are tormented by a masked killer seeking vengeance. Ray was one of the original survivors, but the new movie changes his fate considerably by revealing that he’s now one of the killers.

In an interview with ScreenRant‘s Ash Crossan, Prinze Jr. shares his full reaction to Ray’s killer turn, admitting that he realizes fans are going to be a bit torn by it. However, he explains how the twist was conceived and admits he was “excited” to do it. Check out his full response below:

So yeah, I mean, this movie took a really big swing when they decided to sort of break the psyche of Ray Bronson, which is what happened. I’m playing a broken man. And the pitch was—before I even heard the idea of the movie—”Where is Ray and where is Julie at this point in their life?”

Jen talked a lot about how the same trauma can hit two people completely differently. Depending on how you process it, how you deal with it, it can sort of make or break you. So in Julie’s case, it makes her — and in Ray’s case, it breaks him.

He never dealt with it. He didn’t get to go to therapy. He didn’t get to talk about his feelings. He’s responsible for the feelings of anger and lust. Like most men my age, that’s all we can emote: just, “That girl’s H๏τ,” or “I want to fight you.” And we don’t talk about anything else.

Because of that, you kind of see this spiral over 25 years of not dealing with something. It was the reason why — and that’s what I needed: “How can he have fallen this far?” And she had all those answers for me.

So I got excited before I even read the script at the opportunity to play a character like this—to play a broken man. I don’t get to see that very often.

When that reveal happens, some people will get mad — and I understand that, because they love Ray and who he was and what he represented to them. I get that. If you get upset, just know that I gave everything to this performance. I was excited to play this role, and to take that emotional damage home with me at the end of the day — which isn’t fun.

And to show up to work the next day ready to do it again — it’s not fun. But in between the words “action” and “cut,” it’s the most fun that I’ve had. So it was something that was really special.

And again, as a kid, I always wanted to be the monster in the monster movies. I wanted to be the man in the mask. And this was as close as I think that’s ever going to happen—unless I get to be the Predator one day or something. [Laughs]

What The Ray Twist Means For I Know What You Did Last Summer

The Decision Wasn’t Made Lightly

As the full I Know What You Did Last Summer ending reveals, Ray’s unaddressed trauma led him to adopt a fisherman’s hook of his own when his young charge, Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon), sought to make her friends pay after they accidentally caused the death of someone she loved. Stevie and Ray partnered up and became the newest killers of Southport.

Though there are a few horror franchises that could easily make their heroes villains, it’s rare that they are willing to do that. Considering how Ray was a hero in not just the original movie, but in the 1998 sequel as well, his sudden transformation into a brutal killer is jarring to say the very least.

It might be controversial, but Prinze Jr.’s comments show how much thought went into the decision. Robinson, who wrote the screenplay with Sam Lansky, worked out Ray’s whole evolution and how he would respond to his trauma, and she gave Prinze Jr. all the necessary answers.

Our Take On I Know What You Did Last Summer’s Ray Twist

It’s Refreshing, And Prinze Jr.’s Eagerness Is A Relief Too

Like most actors in franchises, Prinze Jr. sounds very protective of Ray as a character, and so his eagerness to depict this drastic change in his arc might come as a relief to some. It seems he wanted to properly discuss every aspect of it, suggesting that if he didn’t ultimately agree with the story, he would’ve spoken up and gotten it changed somehow.

With I Know What You Did Last Summer only just now hitting theaters, it isn’t entirely clear how fans will feel about this twist, but it’s a daring move for the slasher franchise. In a way, it’s refreshing to see how this revival isn’t afraid to take risks and is looking to revitalize its established characters in creative ways. Time will tell how others feel.