Jennifer Love Hewitt is officially stepping back into the role that made her a scream queen, but don’t expect the same wide-eyed Julie James from the late ‘90s.
In the upcoming I Know What You Did Last Summer, set to hit screens on July 18, 2025, Hewitt teased that fans will meet a much more complex, edgier version of Julie, one who’s spent decades wrestling with the trauma of that infamous summer in Southport.
“She’s very different,” Hewitt said in a recent interview with Extra. “I think you’ll see shades of that girl because I want those to be in there, but she’s lived in.” Now in her 40s, Julie has built a life around dealing with the horrific events of her past , both personally and professionally. “She’s a professor in sort of the mind and trauma and PTSD field. I think she’s figured out a way to put herself in a position so she can deal every day with what happened to her in her teens,” Hewitt added.
So while fans of the original might spot some familiar traits, this version of Julie isn’t just a survivor, she’s someone who’s made her trauma her expertise. She’s a little funnier, a little sharper, and definitely more grounded.
The reboot doesn’t stop at just bringing Julie back. Freddie Prinze Jr. also returns as Ray Bronson, and while Sarah Michelle Gellar’s character Helen Shivers didn’t make it out of the first film alive, director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson has given her an “unofficial” role in the 2025 installment. Fans can expect some creative nods to Helen’s legacy.
Robinson isn’t just banking on nostalgia either. She’s dialing up the horror. Speaking with People, she revealed that the new I Know What You Did Last Summer is “much more brutal” than the original. “There’s definitely more methodology to every kill in this movie, unlike the first,” she said. “There’s not a lot of gore or blood or violence in the first one. There certainly is in this one.”
Despite the darker tone, Robinson emphasized that this film isn’t just for longtime fans, it’s designed to pull in a new generation of horror lovers. “You don’t need to do any research coming into I Know What You Did Last Summer. You just have to have a really good time,” she said. And for those who are returning? Expect plenty of easter eggs, smart callbacks, and a cast that clearly respects what came before.
With legacy characters returning, a new wave of terror, and a fresh yet respectful take on the original story, this summer’s slasher reboot is shaping up to be a blood-soaked tribute to the franchise, one that lets Jennifer Love Hewitt shine in a whole new way with a new version of Julie James.
