Sarah Michelle Gellar Not to Return for "I Know What You Did Last Summer" Sequel

Sarah Michelle Gellar is making it clear she won’t return to “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” a sequel to the 1997 horror hit movie in which she starred opposite Jennifer Love Hewitt, Freddie Prinze Jr. and Ryan Phillippe.

With a sequel to the slasher movie in the works, many fans speculated if Gellar would reprise her role of beauty queen Helen Shivers.

“I am dead,” Gellar told People about the fate her character faced in the 1997 slasher.

However, Gellar’s husband, Freddie Prinze Jr., will reprise his role, and the Buffy the Vampire Slayer alum said she will be part of the sequel in an “unofficial” capacity.

Of the original cast members, Hewitt is in talks to reprise her role as well. Until her contract is finalized, Prinze is set to star alongside Chase Sui Wonders, Madelyn Cline, Sarah Pidgeon, Tyriq Withers, and Jonah Haur-King. 

Camila Mendes was initially set to be in the film, but the “Riverdale” actor recently exited the project due to scheduling conflicts.

“My best friend [Jennifer Kaytin Robinson] is directing it, so we joke that I have an unofficial job, which is I am continuity,” Gellar added. “So I’m always the one telling her, ‘Well, that would happen, or that wouldn’t happen with those characters,’ so I do have kind of an unofficial job title.”

It’s unclear where the upcoming sequel will pick up, but the original “I Know What You Did Last Summer” follows four teens from a small seaside town stalked by a hook-wielding killer one year after covering up a car accident that was believed to be fatal. 

The pic became a box office success with $125 million globally. It was followed by the 1998 sequel “I Still Know What You Did Last Summer” with Hewitt and Prinze Jr., as well as the straight-to-video reboot “I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer.” There’s also a TV series called “I Know What You Did Last Summer” at Amazon Prime.

In the years since “I Know What You Did Last Summer,” Prinze revealed he nearly quit the movie due to director Jim Gillespie ill treatment towards him on set. 

He alleges there was tension because the director wanted to cast another actor, Jeremy Sisto, in the role that eventually went to Prinze.

“It was a struggle to finish work every day. I was in pain every single day on that movie. However, it prepared me for this business in a way,” Prinze said on his horror movie podcast “That Was Pretty Scary".

However, he added was "forever grateful to Jim" because "I’ve never met one like that since…no other director I’ve met felt crossing those lines would be OK. I’ve been prepared.”

Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, whose credits include Netflix comedies “Do Revenge” and “Someone Great,” is directing the follow-up in the horror franchise. 

She also co-wrote the script with Sam Lansky from a draft by Leah McKendrick (“Scrambled”). Neal Moritz is returning as a producer.

Sony Pictures will release the movie in theaters on July 18, 2025.