I Know What You Did Last Summer
Summary
I Know What You Did Last Summers legacy sequel is in the works, but its already repeating two of the biggest mistakes in horror requels.
The trend of reboots, requels, and legacy sequels in the horror genre continues to grow strong, and now joining this wave isI Know What You Did Last Summer.
Over two decades after the release ofI Still Know What You Did Last Summer, a legacy sequel has been announced to be in development, withoriginal stars Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. in talks to reprise their rolesand lead this new story.
I Know What You Did Last Summerfollows four friends Julie (Hewitt), Ray (Prinze Jr), Helen (Sarah Michelle Gellar), and Barry (Ryan Phillippe) who, after an accident in which they ran over a man and dumped him (still alive) in the water, begin to be stalked by a mysterious hook-wielding killer.I Still Know What You Did Last Summerreunited viewers with Julie and Ray as they and their friends were terrorized by the same killer but now in the Bahamas.
Plot details about the newI Know What You Did Last Summersequel are currently unknown, but the plans for it are already repeating two big horror requel mistakes.
I Know What You Did Last Summer’s legacy sequel is already facing a big villain problem thanks to what happened to Ben Willis in the sequel.
I Know What You Did Last Summer Legacy Sequel Is Already Relying Too Much On Nostalgia
Speaking toScreen Rantwhile promoting her new movieScrambled, writer Leah McKendrick teased a bit about whats to come in the newI Know What You Did Last Summersequel.
Without revealing plot details nor whether Julie and Ray will be back to confront a new killer,McKendrick shared that it will be a treat for fans of the first movies.
McKendrick revealed that the most iconic line from the first movie (Julies what are you waiting for?!)
will be repurposed and there will be so many Easter eggs and nods for the fans of the first two movies, and that the project is safe in directors Jennifer Kaytin Robinsons hands.
As nice as it will be for fans of the first movies to have references and Easter eggs to them in the newI Know What You Did Last Summersequel, the project is already repeating the mistake of relying too much on nostalgia.Among the biggest complaints about horror requels is how much they lean on nostalgiaand, as a result, how little they focus on the quality of the story and bringing something new to the franchise.
Rebooted sagas likeHalloweenandScreamwent through this problem, but they managed to survive and expand even more thanks to how popular they are, which, unfortunately, isnt the case forI Know What You Did Last Summer, soits not guaranteed to succeed even with all its Easter eggs and references.
I Know What You Did Last Summer Legacy Sequel Will Have To Retcon The Previous Movie
TheI Know What You Did Last Summerlegacy sequel is also facing another problem, though this one is a narrative one.
The ending ofI Still Know What You Did Last Summerleft viewers questioning if it was a dream or if Julie was finally caught by the fisherman, but with a sequel happening, this ending will have to be retconned.Retconning is another issue with horror requels, as these changes havent always been beneficial to the franchise however, the ambiguity of the ending ofI Still Know What You Did Last Summeris playing in the sequels favor, and retconning can be great for the saga.
The ending of the previous movie might not be the only thing that will be retconned in theI Know What You Did Last Summerlegacy sequel, but that will depend on where the story goes.I Know What You Did Last Summercan find a way to avoid these horror requel mistakes and succeed, but for now, its at risk of facing the same criticism as other legacy sequels.
