90’s kids rejoice, there’s yet another sequel in the works. Again, starring original actors reprising their roles as (more) adults. Bonus point for you if you’re a horror fan as well. I’ll go ahead and let the cat out of the bag since the title of this blog announces it. I Know What You Did Last Summer is getting a sequel! And talks have begun with Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddy Prinze Jr. to step back into their old roles.
With the popularity of the latest Scream sequels, Sony is hoping to revive the franchise by hopping on board the Hollywood Nostalgia Express. Deadline broke the story earlier and report that “the project is in early development and that Neal H. Moritz is in talks to return as producer, with Leah McKendrick on board to write the script.” Jennifer Kaytin Robinson will direct. Robinson’s latest release Do Revenge on Netflix got some attention for it’s 90’s callback vibes a-la Cruel Intentions. Though Do Revenge is Robinson’s first outing as director, she still brought a lot of clout. Marvel fans will be happy to note she was a writer on Thor: Love and Thunder, and consulting producer for Hawkeye.
For those who may not know, I Know What You Did Last Summer debuted 1997. It follows the path of four young friends who were involved in a tragic accident. That accident ends up haunting them a year later, but in the form of hook wielding fisherman. Um…it’s a bit more scary than it sounds. At the time the movie launched the careers of Prinze Jr., Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar, and Ryan Phillippe. The plot of this new iteration is still unknown, yet Deadline reported, “the idea for the new film came from Robinson and McKendrick, who blew away studio execs when they pitched this idea for a sequel last fall”
Chalk one up for Nostalgia when it comes to fishing for new ideas in Hollywood. But one can’t deny the recent success of other movies that have done the same. Jurassic World Dominion, Scream V, and Halloween Ends all immediately come to mind when considering the new formula for getting us in the theaters. From this news, it looks like there is still a lot of old IP that can be mined for money and entertainment.