Jennifer Love Hewitt reportedly caused chaos on the set of the I Know What You Did reboot last summer, as filming was ‘halted’ before her return.
The American actress, 45, played Julie James in the 1997 horror classic and finally confirmed her return for the long-awaited reboot just two weeks ago after months of speculation.
Filming had already begun in Sydney last month with lead star Freddie Prinze Jr traveling to Australia with his wife Sarah Michelle Geller to film scenes with the new cast before Christmas.
However, Jennifer was nowhere to be seen during filming, and speculation was rife about whether her cameo will work given that she was expected to film with Freddie, who played her on-screen love interest, Ray Bronson.
Now, it has been claimed that although Jennifer will return for the reboot, her lengthy negotiations before signing up for the role caused chaos on the Australian set.
A source on set exclusively told Daily Mail Australia that Jennifer became angry while negotiating her return due to “competing” ideas about how her character Julie would return.
Negotiations with Jennifer Love Hewitt (pictured) reportedly ‘halted filming’ on the set of the I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot.
‘Jennifer didn’t want to see Julie James return even for a moment and you missed the cameo,’ they said.
“It was clear she wanted the role expanded and, while executives were waiting for her to sign on, everyone else in Australia had moved ahead with production.
“With the new director of I Know What You Did Last Summer, he was not at all impressed that the shoot had broken down.”
Jennifer reportedly disagreed with some of the writing and filming was “paused” until she officially signed on to the project earlier this month.
The source added: “Production will continue once Jennifer Love Hewitt arrives and while there are a few noses out of place, I’d say the young cast will be ecstatic to see the queen of I Know What You Did Last Summer walking and talking like Julie James. “. one more time.’
Jennifer has already been very vocal about the fact that she doesn’t just want Julie to return for a blink-and-you’ll-miss-it cameo and wants a proper role in the reboot.
“If I’m going to come back 27 years later, I don’t want to be there for just five seconds, I don’t want it to be like that thing that says, ‘Oh, well, there’s the ghost of the past from I Know What You Did, here it is,'” he said. . Parade Magazine last month.
“So I want to be able to make time to really be involved with people and make it matter.” So we are working on it. We are very close.
The actress, 45, played Julie James in the 1997 horror classic and finally confirmed her return for the long-awaited reboot two weeks ago (pictured with Freddie Prinze Jr).
It has been claimed that filming ‘stopped’ on the film’s Sydney set while Jennifer (pictured) was expected to sign up for the project, causing chaos among the production.
It remains to be seen if Jennifer will film any scenes with her former co-star Freddie, given that he’s already finished in Australia and flown back to the United States.
While she could return to Australia for another round of filming, her current lack of overlap on set has sparked online fan theories that her characters have broken up.
“Fans wondered why and how Jennifer could return to the franchise considering her character’s love interest, Freddie, had already been and gone filming in Australia,” a source claimed.
“It was assumed that the two would have to film at the same time, just like in the original sequels.”
Daily Mail Australia has contacted Jennifer’s representatives for comment.
Freddie, 48 years old, He was long rumored to be reprising his role in the horror movie reboot, and his wife Sarah, 47, finally confirmed his involvement in October.
Sarah also starred in the popular original, but her character Helen Shivers was killed off, so she won’t appear in the repeat.
However, she was still on set during filming last month to support Freddie and her best friend Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who directs.
The original thriller follows four teenagers who accidentally run over a man and dump his body to hide their crime, before being stalked by a killer who knows their secret (pictured: lead stars Jennifer, Freddie, Sarah Michelle Geller and Ryan Phillippe).
“We joke that I have an unofficial job, and that I’m continuity,” Sarah told People in October.
“So I’m always the one saying, ‘Well, that would happen, or that wouldn’t happen with those characters,’ so I have kind of an unofficial job title.”
Freddie and Sarah met on the set of I Know What You Did last summer, but they only started dating three years later and are now one of Hollywood’s biggest success stories.
In addition to the iconic original stars, a host of new names are also part of the cast of the I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot.
Monster star Nicholas Chavez, Matty Healy’s model fiancée Gabbriette Bechtel and The Summer I Turned Pretty actress Lola Tung are part of the cast.
Outerbanks’ Madelyn Cline, Bodies Bodies Bodies star Chase Sui Wonders and One Tree Hill icon Austin Nichols have also signed up for the launch.
Details about filming the long-awaited sequel have been kept under wraps until now, but it is expected to hit theaters on July 18, 2025.
A reboot with the original stars had been in the works for a while, with reports indicating that they were in talks to return as early as February 2023.
In addition to the original stars, plenty of new names are also part of the reboot’s cast, including Chase Sui Wonders, Madelyn Cline, Sarah Pidgeon, Tyriq Withers, Jonah Hauer-King and Billy Campbell (all pictured).
The original thriller follows four teenagers who accidentally run over a man and dump his body to hide their crime, before being stalked by a killer who knows their secret.
It also starred Ryan Phillippe in a lead role, while Johnny Galecki, Bridgette Wilson and the late Anne Heche, who died in August 2022 at age 53, were also in the cast.
The hit film, loosely based on Lois Duncan’s 1973 novel, spawned the sequels I Still Know What You Did Last Summer in 1998 and I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer in 2006.
It was also the source material for a 2021 Amazon Prime series that lasted just one season, with Madison Iseman and Brianne Tju taking on the lead roles.