'I Know What You Did Last Summer' Interview: Freddie Prinze Jr.

Moviefone speaks with Freddie Prinze Jr. about 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' (2025). "I got really excited before they even wrote the script."

Freddie Prinze Jr. stars in 2025's 'I Know What You Did Last Summer.'

Opening in theaters on July 18th is 2025’s ‘'I Know What You Did Last Summer’, which is the fourth film in the popular horror franchise and a direct sequel to 1998’s ‘I Still Know What You Did Last Summer.’

Directed by Jennifer Kaytin Robinson (‘Do Revenge’), the film stars returning original cast members Freddie Prinze Jr. (‘Scooby-Doo’) and Jennifer Love Hewitt (‘Can't Hardly Wait’), as well as new cast members Madelyn Cline (‘Outer Banks’), Chase Sui Wonders (‘The Studio’), Jonah Hauer-King (‘The Little Mermaid’), Tyriq Withers (‘Don't Tell Mom the Babysitter's Dead’), and Sarah Pidgeon (‘Tiny Beautiful Things’).

Moviefone recently had the pleasure of speaking with Freddie Prinze Jr. about his work on 2025’s ‘I Know What You Did Last Summer’, returning to the franchise he helped create, and working with the new and returning cast.

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Freddie Prinze Jr. as Ray Bronson in 2025's 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'. Photo: Sony Pictures.

Moviefone: To begin with, what was it like for you to return to this character and this franchise all these years after making the original?

Freddie Prinze Jr.: It was exciting. Once Jen (Robinson) pitched me where the character was at, what he had gone through, and her interpretation of how he processed the trauma that happened to both him and Julie (Jennifer Love Hewitt), I got excited before they even wrote the script. So, I kind of knew that this was going to happen, and it was all going to work out early in the process. We take big swings, but they're swings that I got so excited for, and I literally committed everything I have into that performance and tried to play it as vulnerable and as honest as I know how at 49 years old. That's why I came back. Just the care that they put into the character was tremendous on both Julie and Ray's side of the boat, so to speak.

(L to R) Chase Sui Wonders as Ava Brucks, Madelyn Cline as Danica Richards, Sarah Pidgeon as Stevie Ward, and Freddie Prinze Jr. as Ray Bronson in 2025's 'I Know What You Did Last Summer.' Photo: Sony Pictures.

MF: Finally, what was it like working with the new cast members and did you give them any advice about joining the franchise?

FPJ: Advice is like peanut butter. It tastes good to me, but it might kill you. So, I don't offer advice up unless people are asking. Chase is really interested in the history of this business, and that's something that I've had a fascination with since I was a little boy. So, we talked a lot about the history of the business and who made this movie and why we think they made it and why it was great, and who the greatest executive of all time was from back in the day, things like that. But it wasn't ever advice. It was just sharing the history of this business. But I love working with young people. It's inspiring to see that group. You got to remember, when I was coming up, there weren't that many movies or TV shows getting made because there weren't that many channels out there. There weren't that many distributors out there. So, it was highly competitive. The camaraderie, at least in my experience, was not there very often. It was much more competitive. This group leaned on each other so much and cared for one another so much. I just wanted to be a part of that circle, even though I'm 20-30 years older than all of them. I just wanted to be a part of that and feel that, and they were so embracing and so engaging with me. I love the cast. I love hanging out with them. I love talking to them off set, on set, whatever. But they're fantastic. Jen casts better than anyone I've ever seen. If you watch ‘Do Revenge,’ I'm not saying you discovered Maya Hawke, but the casting was perfect. Everyone sort of fit into place. The same thing on this movie. Everyone just sort of fit perfectly. If she believes in you, she will fight for you and she will fight for your ideas. So, to work with them and to see that cast function at that high a level was inspiring to me every day.

Editorial Note: Tessa Smith conducted this interview and contributed to this article.

I Know What You Did Last Summer

"You get the ending you deserve."

R1 hr 51 minJul 18th, 2025

Showtimes & Tickets

When five friends inadvertently cause a deadly car accident, they cover up their involvement and make a pact to keep it a secret rather than face the consequences.... Read the Plot

What is the plot of 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'?

When five friends (Madelyn Cline, Jonah Hauer-King, Tyriq Withers, Sarah Pidgeon and Chase Sui Wonders) inadvertently cause a deadly car accident, they cover up their involvement and make a pact to keep it a secret rather than face the consequences. A year later, their past comes back to haunt them and they're forced to confront a horrifying truth: someone knows what they did last summer…and is hell-bent on revenge. As one by one the friends are stalked by a killer, they discover this has happened before, and they turn to two survivors (Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt) of the legendary Southport Massacre of 1997 for help.