Jennifer Love Hewitt returning for I Know What You Did Last Summer sequel, director teases

Jennifer Love Hewitt is slated to return as Julie James in the 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' sequel.

The 46-year-old actress starred in the 1997 horror flick as the slasher heroine, and the follow-up's director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson has now teased Love Hewitt's comeback.

Taking to Instagram, the 36-year-old filmmaker posted a photo of some mail addressed to her character Julie James and added the caption: "She’s baaaaaack @jenniferlovehewitt (sic)."

As well as Love Hewitt, Sarah Michelle Gellar – who starred in 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' as the ill-fated Helen Shivers – is also due to work on the upcoming sequel, though has insisted she will not be reprising her role as her character is "dead".

Even so, Gellar teased she would have an "unofficial" role on the sequel working with Robinson.

She told PEOPLE: "My best friend is directing it, so we joke that I have an unofficial job, which is I am continuity.

"So I’m always the one telling her, 'Well, that would happen, or that wouldn’t happen with those characters,' so I do have kind of an unofficial job title."

While Gellar may not be appearing in the 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' follow-up, the actress' husband Freddie Prinze Jr. is set to return as Ray Bronson in the upcoming movie.

After it was revealed the 'Scooby-Doo' star was in talks about returning for the slasher last July, Prinze Jr. said he was "motivated" to reprise his role as Ray Bronson, though emphasised he would only do so if all parties were "happy with the script", which is being written by Leah McKendrick.

Prinze Jr. told US Weekly: "Nothing's a lock until there's ink on paper, until the contract's signed, but I'm definitely talking to them.

"And if we can make everything work – and I know they wanna make everything work – then we'll try and make it work. But we gotta make sure everyone's schedules fit.

"Everyone has to be happy with the script. I knew Jen Robinson, the director, and I like Jen Robinson very much as a director and as a person. I think people like her are the future of this business. So there's a lot of good things that make me want to do the movie.

"I'm motivated, I know they're motivated. I know both sides are trying to make it work. And hopefully we do."

'I Know What You Did Last Summer' followed a group of teenagers who accidently run over a man and hide his body, though a year later find themselves the prey of a killer wielding a hook. It was a box office hit and spawned two sequels in 1998 and 2006 respectively.

With a handful of legacy characters set to appear in the sequel – which is slated to hit screens on July 18, 2025 – the 'I Know What You Did Last Summer' follow-up will also introduce newcomers Lola Tung, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Austin Nichols, Billy Campbell, Chase Sui Wonders, Madelyn Cline, Sarah Pidgeon, Tyriq Withers, Jonah Haur-King and Gabbriette.