Former General Hospital star Nicholas Alexander Chavez has been booked and busy since his debut in Ryan Murphy’s second season of Monsters, which focused on the Menendez Brothers. After his role in Grotesquerie (also a Murphy production) was completed, we were all wondering what was next. As it turns out, we did not have to wait long because he was cast in the I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel.
According to Deadline, the highly anticipated film from Sony Pictures will also star Lola Tung (The Summer I Turned Pretty), Austin Nichols (One Tree Hill, The Walking Dead), and Gabriette. They join previously cast Chase Sui Wonders (Bodies Bodies Bodies), Madelyn Cline (Outer Banks), Sarah Pidgeon (Tiny Beautiful Things), Tyriq Withers (Tell Me Lies), and Jonah Hauer-King (The Little Mermaid).
Jennifer Kaytin Robinson will direct. Kaytin Robinson and Sam Lansky wrote the script, based on a draft by Leah McKendrick. Neal Moritz, who produced the original and the previous sequels, will again produce. Sony Pictures has set the film’s release for July 18, 2025. There is no other information on this sequel. We don’t know who everyone will be playing, but I will say I see Chavez playing the new “Barry” character, like the one Ryan Phillippe played in the original film. Unless of course that would be Withers’ character. Also, I have many questions regarding who the killer will be this time if they take an entirely new approach, which it seems they are doing. I’ve also got questions regarding the OG cast.
We already know that Freddie Prinze Jr. is set to reprise his role as Ray Bronson. Jennifer Love Hewitt, who played the scream queen, Julie James, is also in talks for a possible return. That would be amazing if she did come back, considering we were essentially left thinking her character was killed at the end of I Still Know What You Did Last Summer when she was pulled under her bed. That then leaves me wondering, what about Brandy? As I wrote in a piece on women of color who are final girls who don’t get enough recognition, Brandy’s character and Julie’s best friend Karla survived in I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. So why are we not hearing anything about her return?
Brandy, who was asked about a return, which Deadline wrote about in August of this year, said, “I don’t know how she would come back. I haven’t thought about that yet, but I know that she should return. She should come back.” As a fan of Karla and Brandy, I couldn’t agree more. I’m tired of seeing sequels that don’t include actors of color from the originals. It’s 2024, and we still want to see that representation, even in sequels. Also, I know there is diversity in this new cast. However, there is still a little more work to be done on that front because Black actors are still seen less in the YA universe.
While I understand Withers is a Black actor, whom I do like, I recognize that he is also racially ambiguous. This was also an opportunity to cast an unambiguous Black female (Karla’s daughter perhaps?) which they unfortunately did not. I mean no harm in saying this and do not want anyone to take offense. However, it needs to be pointed out that Hollywood has to work on this. There are a lot of unambiguous Black actors out there, so I need Hollywood to be looking at them, too.
Despite this, I am still excited to see this new iteration of I Know What You Did Last Summer. And as a fan of Chavez, I’m looking forward to seeing him on the big screen in a movie theater. Lastly, as a fan of the I Know What You Did Last Summer franchise, I hope they will honor it and give us a story worth waiting for.
