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‘I Know What You Did Last Summer' Red Carpet: Cast Talks Keeping A Killer Secret
Nearly 30 summers later, Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. reunited on the red carpet for Monday's world premiere of I Know What You Did Last Summer.
On the red carpet at the United Artists Theater in DTLA, Prinze told Deadline 'it was very surreal' sharing the screen with Hewitt again as they reprised their roles as Ray Bronson and Julie James in writer/director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson's update of the 1997 slasher film.
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'It was weird, man,' said Prinze. 'I never went to a high school reunion, but it was close to that as I could imagine 'cause I hadn't seen her in 20-plus years.'
Prinze walked the red carpet with his wife Sarah Michelle Gellar, whom he met on the set of the original, and who previously sparked rumors of her return when she got in trouble for leaking a photo from set while visiting her husband.
While there are quite a few satisfying cameos and canonical surprises, Robinson made one thing clear: Helen Shivers is dead. That didn't stop her from pitching longtime friend Gellar to reprise her role.
'I was like, 'Maybe you aren't dead. Maybe you faked your death. Maybe you have a twin,'' Robinson said. 'I really pitched any version of Helen Shivers being alive to Sarah, and she was like, 'I am dead.''
Co-writer Sam Lansky, who made his feature debut alongside Robinson, called the opportunity 'the most surreal dream come true' after growing up on the original.
'The care that these actors put into crafting these characters is extraordinary, and I was so heartened by that as a fan, to realize how deeply these actors care about these characters and care about the fans, and want to protect the characters and their legacies for the fans,' said Lansky. 'Nothing about it was casual, there was a lot of really, really deep thought and critical consideration that went into it on Freddie and Love's part that you just felt to your marrow.'
Jonah Hauer-King, who plays Milo Griffin, was excited to 'recreate that brilliant universe that everyone fell in love with' while working with Prinze and Hewitt.
'They're great. I don't think the film could have really been made without them,' he raved. 'They're kind of synonymous with the original film, and I think having them back was such a stamp of approval for this new wave and for the new script. Them being back was sort of an endorsement for us and do our thing and bring our own fresh take too.'
And with a new era in the slasher franchise, which was based on Lois Duncan's 1973 novel, comes a new slasher to unmask. The reveal is sure to give longtime fans a shock as the cast and creators wrestle with the killer secret.
'I know Jen's original plan was that we were going to shoot multiple endings. I can neither confirm or deny that,' said Sarah Pidgeon, who plays Stevie Ward.
Prinze seems to have had a little more insight. 'No, there was a singular focus, there was a singular story. It wasn't Clue, there was no multiple endings,' he said with a laugh.
For Lansky, keeping a lid on the who's behind the hook 'has been really hard' leading up to the movie's July 18 premiere in theaters.
'Keeping secrets is always really hard,' he added. 'But I think we knew there were things that we wanted to do that would be fun and surprising for the audience, and that's all I'm gonna say. I hope that everyone feels that element of surprise when they're watching in the theater for the first time.'
See Deadline's exclusive Polaroids from the I Know What You Did Last Summer red carpet below.
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