Jennifer Love Hewitt, the ’90s icon known for her roles in the I Know What You Did Last Summer movies, will reprise her most important character in the upcoming sequel to the horror franchise. Hewitt has been mostly absent from the film industry, though she has appeared in TV shows like 9-1-1. However, her role as Julie James still remains her most important one to date, and Hewitt has addressed her reprisal as one of the most iconic final girls of the ’90s.
Hewitt spoke to Extra TV about playing Julie James 27 years after she came up with the character for the film written by Scream’s Kevin Williamson. The new I Know What You Did Last Summer was the result of a creative overhaul. Newcomers include director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, and a whole new cast. Luckily, the writers found a way to bring back Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. to play their characters again. The Ghost Whisperer actor said the following about returning to the franchise that changed her career when she was in her teens:
“It’s honestly surreal. It’s a ‘pinch me’ moment, it’s a gratitude-filled moment… I think the anxiety is different this time. Being totally honest, I think, on one hand, I feel this real sense of gratitude and awesomeness to have not been forgotten and to matter still in the franchise. On the other hand, being a 46-year-old woman who’s aging in Hollywood and stepping back into a role that you did when you were 18, it comes with anxiety.”
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TV and film star Jennifer Love Hewitt dominated Hollywood in the ‘90s and 2000s, memorably starring in the slasher I Know What You Did Last Summer.
The actor also compared both versions of Julie, as many years have passed, and the character is now a survivor facing again what was once her worst nightmare. In 1997, the fear was real for Hewitt, given how young she was being the lead in a major horror film. The new version of Julie is “different”:
“I think you’ll see shades of that girl because I want those to be in there. She’s in her 40s. She’s carried this a long time. I think she’s figured out how to deal [with it]. She’s a professor, in sort of the mind and trauma and PTSD field. I think she’s figured out a way to put herself in a position in her life that she can deal every day with what happened to her in her teens. She’s a little edgier. She’s funny. She’s funny in this movie, which I really appreciate.”
Will the Premise of Slasher Classic ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’ Work With Modern Audiences?
Sony Pictures
I Know What You Did Last Summer premieres exclusively in theaters on July 18, 2025. While you would think this is a typo, it’s actually not. The upcoming sequel has the same title as the 1997 original, in the same vein as 2022’s Scream, which also repeated the title of its most important predecessor.
However, the appeal of Scream, and 2018’s retconning sequel Halloween (which also repeated the title), lies in how its plot can be adapted and “resumed” for modern audiences without simply executing the premise again. The previously mentioned titles worked with today’s audience because of good scripts that capitalized on the nostalgic value of the horror franchises and sat on the shoulders of compelling and multilayered characters.
I Know What You Did Last Summer faces a major challenge. The original story wasn’t exactly based on a profound arc. Yes, the premise was great, but the rest of the plot lacked the punch of a well-developed narrative. Judging by the trailer, audiences should already know what to expect, and while it will surely perform well, it should aim for something more than just being a nostalgia-based cash grab. Done right, the movie could follow the likes of Final Destination in delivering a worthy franchise return.
Source: Extra TV (via YouTube)
I Know What You Did Last Summer
Release Date
July 18, 2025
Runtime
100 minutes
Director
Jennifer Kaytin Robinson
Writers
Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Sam Lansky
Producers
Neal H. Moritz
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Madelyn Cline
Danica Richards
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Chase Sui Wonders
Ava Brucks
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Jonah Hauer-King
Milo Griffin
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Tyriq Withers
Teddy Spencer
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