Recently, Hollywood studios have been reviving old, successful titles in the hope that fans’ nostalgia will drive them to theaters. The trend has seen good success so far with Top Gun, Scream, and Batman sequels among the most successful films of 2022. However, Hollywood isn’t done milking these franchises, with the slate of films scheduled to debut in 2023 including numerous reboots and revivals.
Fans of I Know What You Did Last Summer will be glad to hear that the popular horror film series is one of the franchises getting a new lease of life as, according to a recent Deadline report, Sony Pictures is currently developing a sequel to the slasher horror series.
Similar to revivals like Scream and Ghostbusters, the film will feature characters from the original film as well as new ones, with the intention being to foster a transition from the old generation to a new one. The Deadline report states that Sony opted to use this roadmap given the fact that Scream and Creed utilised it with great success. Consequently, the sequel will see Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. reprise their roles from the original films, since they are the only two characters that survived.
Neal H. Moritz, who co-produced the first sequel, is in talks to return as producer while Leah McKendrick is attached to pen the screenplay. Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who co-wrote Thor: Love and Thunder alongside Taika Waititi, will direct the film. Robinson and McKendrick are jointly responsible for the sequel as they developed the idea and pitched it to Sony executives.
I Know What You Did Last Summer is loosely based on Lois Duncan’s 1973 eponymous novel. Despite poor reviews from critics, the two major films in the series were commercial successes and are widely lauded, alongside Scream, for reviving the slasher horror franchise. I Know What You Did Last Summer has since spawned a direct-to-DVD standalone sequel as well as a television show that debuted in 2021 but aired for one season.
The first film followed four young friends – Julie James, Ray Bronson, Barry Cox, and Helen Shivers – who accidentally hit a pedestrian with their vehicle. Over a year later, they are stalked by a hook-wielding killer who claimed to know what happened the previous summer and is after them in revenge.
Hewitt, Prinze, Ryan Philippe, and Sarah Michelle Gellar played the roles of James, Bronson, Cox, and Bronson respectively. The film also featured Bridgette Wilson, Anne Heche, Johnny Galecki, Stuart Greer, and Muse Watson.
By the way, Sony has neither confirmed nor denied the report. As a result, there is a dearth of information on the planned sequel apart from those gleaned by Deadline. However, as development progresses, the entertainment company will certainly provide more information.
Meanwhile, fans can stream the first and second installments of the series on Prime Video.
