How do you bring I Know What You Did Last Summer‘s final girl, Julie James, into 2025? Who is she now, and what has she been up to after surviving two encounters with a hook-wielding killer? Those questions were at the forefront for I Know What You Did Last Summer returning cast member Jennifer Love Hewitt when it came to reprising her role in the upcoming legacy sequel. By the time we catch up with Julie in 2025, a lot has gone down, and it seems she is quite frankly, sick of this shit. When it came to bringing a character fans are very familiar with back to the screen, more than 25 years after we last saw her, Jennifer Love Hewitt was very involved in the process of what that could and should look like.
“I think it was definitely my focus. It took a little bit to get there, mainly because of scheduling and getting together with Jen [director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson].” Love Hewitt shared. “But once we got on the phone, it was pretty immediate. We agreed that Julie did need to be sick of this shit and that she did need to be a person who felt like she had lived with 27 years of trauma.”
In the opening of the original I Know What You Did Last Summer, sweet girl next door Julie James jokes with boyfriend Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr.) that he’s going to meet “a black-wearing, tattooed, pierced, philosophy student” when he leaves the tiny town of Southport behind for New York. The description is the exact antithesis of who Julie James is when we first meet her in 1997. But after surviving two summers with a slicker-clad killer and losing friends and loved ones to the murder spree, two decades of trauma land Julie James closer to that edgy description than we may have anticipated.
“We did not want to see a healed person. I did not think that was interesting.” Love Hewitt emphasized, adding, “I didn't think that would be real, and it wouldn't do justice to the person who was on the road that night 27 years ago.”
This version of Julie James will feel familiar to franchise fans while also feeling like the character has grown with longtime IKWYDLS audiences. “I think what people loved about Julie James in particular is that she was just a real girl, and anybody could feel like they were about to live the best summer of their lives with their friends, and then it turned on a dime. That's just truly how life happens sometimes.”
I Know What You Did Last Summer has always been about trauma and the way it manifests for different people. In the legacy sequel, audiences will experience what that fresh trauma looks like for the new characters, as well as how that trauma has aged and taken root over two decades for our returning characters, Julie and Ray.
“I was really excited to keep the trauma going to see that, but also for that trauma to be what leads her back in strength this time to help this new group of people. It was fun. I think the thing for me that I'm most proud of, besides the franchise and the movie and obviously the new cast, is that this version of Julie James is exactly as I wanted her to be.”
When it came to the new cast collaborating and working together against the killer, it brought back memories for Love Hewitt of her time on the original.
“The stories in these movies, in particular, really start with friendships. They start with a very close group of people, and then it gets derailed very quickly. Then you see how those people become very singular and deal with those things. It was very reminiscent to see them just sort of have that camaraderie and be there. But also, just the group feeling of being in a horror movie.
“Their experience for this one is going to be so different than ours. When ours came out, it was Scream, which was amazing, but we hadn't done that yet. This is interesting because they're having that ‘we haven't done this yet’ experience, but they're doing it within a franchise that everybody knows. That's got to feel so incredibly unique and interesting for them. But it was great, it was really fun.”
And while there's plenty for new fans to appreciate about the new cast and the new storyline, there is also a good deal of nostalgic nods to the original. “I do love how nostalgic the movie feels and pays homage to all of that. I was really touched by how much the new cast and the director, Jen, really honored our movie and felt supportive of us coming back. It was really lovely.”
We’d be remiss not to point out the rarity that is Jennifer Love Hewitt’s career. Julie James has grown with fans of the franchise, and in real life, Hewitt has mastered the art of growing alongside her fan base. From starting as a child actor in commercials and starring in the popular Disney show Kids Incorporated, to the wildly popular teen drama Party of Five, which also gave us horror icon Neve Campbell. For a generation, the child star turned teen star, making the jump to horror films and coming-of-age comedies like Can’t Hardly Wait, to supernatural drama Ghost Whisperer, and her current series, 9-1-1 – Love Hewitt has essentially grown up right alongside her audience.
“I do feel that too. It's really nice. It's nice to see people on social media that I know have been there the whole time. They depend on me to keep going, and I depend on them to keep going. It's a really beautiful connection that I feel deep gratitude for.”
And we’re happy to be along for the ride.
You can read more about IKWYDLS in FANGORIA #28 where you’ll find an awesome piece by our very own Meredith Borders AND bylines by Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt making their FANGORIA contributor debuts. Catch I Know What You Did Last Summer in theaters July 18.
Watch our full interview with Jennifer Love Hewitt below.
