Freddie Prinze Jr. is set to reprise his role as Ray Bronson in the upcoming sequel to “I Know What You Did Last Summer.” The film, directed and co-written by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, introduces a new group of teens haunted by a stalker who knows their dark secret. They accidentally killed someone and covered it up, much like the original survivors, Ray and Julie James, played by Jennifer Love Hewitt.
Prinze Jr. says the characters were all traumatized by their past experiences. “Catching up with Ray, you see how that has shaped him into the position he’s in now,” he explains.
“He loves his town, but not everyone else does, in his view, and he’s a bit grumpier with the way the world has treated him since [the 1997 Southport Massacre].”
Ray now runs a bar, a departure from his expected life as a fisherman. However, fans may wonder how Ray and Julie survived the cliffhanger endings of the previous films. Director Robinson clarifies that those final scenes live outside the canon, allowing both characters to be alive and well in the new story.
Robinson aims to explore the long-term impact of trauma on the characters. “I came to this wanting to dig into how such an event would shape someone,” she says.
Returning to Southport’s haunted past
“I wanted to look at Ray and Julie and see how this thing shaped them and where they would be today.”
Prinze Jr. and Robinson focused on portraying Ray with more vulnerability. “The amount of vulnerability we were able to put in was honest and organic,” Prinze Jr.
says. He also mentions that reconnecting with Hewitt was easy, as the script provides the necessary backstory for the audience to understand their characters’ journeys. The new film explores how Ray and Julie help the younger cast find closure while also finding their own catharsis.
“Each has a connection to one of the younger cast, and it helps them move forward in ways they wouldn’t have otherwise experienced,” Robinson explains. The cast includes Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Sarah Pidgeon, Jonah Hauer-King, and Tyriq Withers, all excited to work with the original stars. “The energy on set was incredible,” Robinson recalls.
“There was so much reverence and respect for Freddie and Jen. It was an unbelievably cool and surreal experience.”
“I Know What You Did Last Summer” opens in theaters on July 18, promising a fresh take on the iconic slasher franchise while honoring its legacy characters.
