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 heard all the fan chatter about her potentially reprising her role as Helen Shivers in the upcoming reboot of I Know What You Did Last Summer.

As the production for the film nears, the actress let it be known that she will not be be starring in the upcoming slasher flick — though her husband Freddie Prinze Jr. is among the main cast.

‘I am dead,’ Gellar emphatically told People, in a reference to her character, who died in the now-classic horror film from 1997.

While Gellar won’t be starring in the reboot, she thinks she will be involved somehow behind-the-scenes, considering her bestie, Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, is writing and directing the reboot, along with her hubby reprising his role as Ray Bronson.

‘My best friend [Jennifer Kaytin Robinson] is directing it, so we joke that I have an unofficial job, which is I am continuity,’ she explained. ‘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.’

Sarah Michelle Gellar, 47, put all the talk to rest and announced she is not 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 am dead,’ Gellar (second right)  told People, when explaining why she’s not reprising her role as Helen Shiver in the upcoming slasher flick, while husband Freddie Prize Jr. (left) has signed on 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 are stalked by a hook-wielding killer one year after covering up a car accident in which they supposedly killed a man. 

Alongside Gellar and Prinze Jr., the cast also featured Jennifer Love Hewitt and Ryan Phillippe in lead roles, 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 from Kevin Williamson I Know What You Did Last Summer went on to become a hit with moviegoers, grossing $125.3 million at the worldwide box office against a budget of $17 million.

Trying to pounce on the success of the first film, the sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) dropped just over a year later, during the November, with Hewitt, Prinze Jr., and Watson reprising their roles.

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

Danny Cannon served as the director and Trey Callaway wrote the screenplay, but in the end the sequel flopped at the box office, earning just $40 million after spending between$25-65 million on production costs.

Nearly a decade later, the third installment in the franchise I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer (2006) dropped, but it lacked any star power since it didn’t feature any of the cast from the first two movies, thus making it a standalone sequel. 

Along with Prinze Jr., 48, leading lady Hewitt, 45, is confirmed to be reprising her role as Julie James, who both appeared in the first two films in the 90s.

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

Rounding out the new cast are Madelyn Cline, Chase Sui Wonders, Jonah Haur-King, Sarah Pidgeo and Tyriq Withers, according to Variety. Camila Mendes was initially tapped for the film but exited due to scheduling conflicts.

‘Jen’s put together such an amazing cast, and I’m so happy and excited for all of them,” Gellar told People of the reboot. ‘I will 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 one 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 I am 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; pictured are star Prinze Jr., Hewitt, Gellar, and Phillippe in the original

Trying to pounce on the success of the first film, the sequel I Still Know What You Did Last Summer (1998) dropped just over a year later, in November 1998, with Hewitt, Prinze Jr., and Watson reprising their roles, but it flopped at the box office, grossing $40 million 

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

Despite not being in the new reboot Gellar would again share about her being there to lend her support to the production in any way possible.

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

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

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