Key Takeaways
- Sequel ending reimagined; logic issue addressed for legacy characters’ survival.
- Future film challenges include maintaining realism amidst killer chase.
- Expectations high for reboot to provide satisfying, detailed storytelling.
A car accident, four teenage friends, a small seaside town, and a memorable killer wielding a hook. Ben Willis (aka “The Fisherman”) from I Know What You Did Last Summer may be a cheesier slasher villain than most, but he’s part of horror movie history. That’s why it’s such good news that there is an upcoming I Know What You Did Last Summer legacy sequel.
Although fans know there will be new cast members in the upcoming sequel, everyone is curious to see final girl Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt) and her partner Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr.) again. But there’s just one issue: the ending of the sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, which was released in 1998. Can the new movie fix this issue and deliver a truly satisfying story?
Related
This Netflix Horror Movie Was Better Than I Expected
There is a new Netflix horror movie that addresses time travel, tells a slasher story, and pleasantly surprised me.
How Can The I Know What You Did Last Summer Reboot Address The Sequel’s Ending?
In July 2024, the I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot director responded to whether the new movie will pick up where the sequel left off or start a new timeline. According to Deadline, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who directed Do Revenge and Someone Great, tweeted:
“It is definitely not? ISKWYDLS is canon. hope this helps.”
There’s just one problem: at the end of I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, Ben Willis appears from under the bed and it’s suggested that he kills Julie. Since Julie’s longtime love interest Ray is also living in the house, it seems like Ben would kill Ray, too. Fans know that beloved legacy cast members Ray and Julie are alive now, so what happened at the end of the 1998 sequel?
There are a few potential answers, some of them likelier than others. If Ray and Julie fought back and killed Ben, he couldn’t come back for the reboot. Perhaps he escaped. However, that poses a few problems. If Ben was injured, then he couldn’t get away. And if Ray and Julie ran away from their home, wouldn’t Ben come back to their house and kill them once and for all? In that case, the couple would have to move far away and assume new identities.
If the new I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel follows the events of the second movie, then hopefully there will be a logical explanation of how Ray and Julie were able to survive. Maybe they were both seriously injured and spent time in the hospital and the new movie could take place a few years after the sequel’s ending. This sequel suffers from the same problem as future Scream movies will: how do the main characters keep beating the killer who is chasing them? At a certain point, it would seem like they would be killed or at least badly hurt. If fans learn that they had to heal and recover from the killer’s latest attack at the beginning of the sequel, that would feel realistic.
Scream 7 might also have a plot hole, and the new I Know What You Did Last Summer needs to give fans all the information they need to get lost in the new story and the scary, wild, and intense ride. Otherwise, it won’t be satisfying or fun.
How Many Movies Are In The I Know What You Did Last Summer Franchise?
After the first I Know What You Did Last Summer movie was released in 1997, the sequel followed in 1998. Then, in 2006, the third movie I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer was released. However, that movie was direct-to-video. The consensus is that horror fans should enjoy the first two for all their corny goodness and ignore the third movie.
In 2021, the Amazon Prime Video series I Know What You Did Last Summer premiered. The show wasn’t popular with critics or viewers and only got one season. It told a similar story as the original movie but, instead, focused on a twin named Allison (Madison Iseman) who is dealing with a disturbing tragedy. The characters didn’t draw anyone in, and the kills and the tense moments had been seen a thousand times before. The series also seemed like it couldn’t quite find its voice. Unlike the original movie, which has a goofy and entertaining tone, the show veered between serious and campy.
Horror fans might not have to wait forever for the I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot. As Jennifer Love Hewitt told Parade recently:
“We’re so close, that’s all I’m gonna say. I feel like the actual audience now is like, ‘What are you waiting for, huh?’
More
Horror Movies Have Found A New Favorite Trope In The 21st Century
While horror cinema twisting reality is nothing new, recent releases have leaned hard into the surreal and left everything ambiguous.