Sarah Michelle Gellar responds to rumors that she’s reprising her role for I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot

Sarah Michelle Gellar has already heard the chatter from fans about her possibly reprising her role as Helen Shivers in the upcoming reboot of I Know What You Did Last Summer.

As production on the film nears, the actress revealed that she will not be starring in the upcoming slasher film, although her husband Freddie Prinze Jr. belongs to the main cast.

“I’m dead,” Gellar said emphatically People, in a reference to her character, who died in the now classic 1997 horror film.

While Gellar won’t be starring in the reboot, she thinks she’ll be involved behind the scenes in some way, as her best friend, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, is writing and directing the reboot, along with her husband who reprises his role as Ray Bronson reprises.

‘My best friend [Jennifer Kaytin Robinson] is directing it, so we joke that I have an unofficial job, which is continuity,” she explained. “So I’m always the one saying to her, ‘Well, that would happen, or that wouldn’t happen with those characters,’ so I kind of have an unofficial job title.”

Sarah Michelle Gellar, 47, shut down all talk and announced that she will not be returning for the upcoming reboot of the slasher classic I Know What You Did Last Summer. She played Helen Shivers in the 1997 horror film

“I’m dead,” Gellar (second from right) told People as she explained why she won’t be reprising her role as Helen Shiver in the upcoming slasher film, while husband Freddie Prize Jr. (left) has signed to return as Ray Bronson; Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ryan Phillippe are also pictured

The original film, which was loosely based on Lois Duncan’s 1973 novel of the same name, focused on four teenage friends, who, a year after covering up a car accident in which they allegedly killed a man, are stalked by a hook wielding killer.

In addition to Gellar and Prinze Jr. The cast also starred Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ryan Phillippe, as well as Johnny Galecki, Bridgette Wilson and the late Anne Heche, who has since passed away in August 2022 at the age of 53.

Directed by Jim Gillespie, who worked from a screenplay by Kevin Williamson, I Know What You Did Last Summer became a hit with moviegoers, grossing $125.3 million at the worldwide box office against a budget of $17 million.

In an attempt to continue the success of the first film, the sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) was released just over a year later in November, starring Hewitt, Prinze Jr. and Watson reprising their roles.

The trio was joined in the cast for the sequel by newcomers: Brandy, Mekhi Phifer, Bill Cobbs, Jennifer Esposito, Matthew Settle, John Hawkes, Jeffrey Combs and Benjamin Brown, among others.

Danny Cannon was the director and Trey Callaway wrote the screenplay, but ultimately the sequel flopped at the box office, earning only $40 million after spending between $25 and 65 million in production costs.

Nearly a decade later, the third installment in the franchise I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006) was released, but it lacked any star power as it did not include any of the cast from the first two films, making it a standalone standing sequel.

Together with 48-year-old Prinze Jr. it is confirmed that lead actress Hewitt, 45, will reprise her role as Julie James, who both appeared in the first two films of the ’90s.

The older sequel – which combines both characters from the original film with younger characters played by a new cast – was first announced in February 2023.

According to Variety, the new cast is completed with Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Haur-King, Sarah Pidgeo and Tyriq Withers. Camila Mendes was initially tapped for the film, but left due to scheduling conflicts.

“Jen has put together such an amazing cast and I’m so happy and excited for them all,” Gellar told People about the reboot. “I’ll be there with moral support behind the camera.”

The original film, which was loosely based on Lois Duncan’s 1973 novel of the same name, focused on four teenage friends who are stalked by a hook-wielding killer a year after covering up a car accident in which they supposedly killed a man .

‘My best friend [Jennifer Kaytin Robinson] is directing it, so we joke that I have an unofficial job, which is continuity,” Gellar joked

I Know What You Did Last Summer was a hit with viewers, grossing $125.3 million at the worldwide box office against a budget of $17 million; depicted are star Prinze Jr., Hewitt, Gellar and Phillippe in the original

In an attempt to continue the success of the first film, the sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) was released a little over a year later in November 1998, starring Hewitt, Prinze Jr. and Watson reprising their roles. flopped at the box office, grossing $40 million

‘Well, I mean, my husband is in the movie, my best friend wrote and directed the movie, [so] I think there’s a good chance I’ll go to that premiere,” Gellar said of her unofficial support for the reboot; Gellar and Prinze Jr. are pictured in January 2023

Despite not being in the new reboot, Gellar once again shared that she was there to support the production in any way she could.

‘Well, I mean, my husband is in the movie, my best friend wrote and directed the movie, [so] “I think there’s a good chance I’ll go to that premiere,” she added.

Gella and Prinze Jr. actually met on the set of the original film, and continued dating until tying the knot in September 2022. During those 22 years of marriage, they welcomed daughter Charlotte, 14, and son Rocky, 11.

The reboot of I Know What You Did Last Summer is scheduled to hit U.S. theaters on July 18, 2025.