Not Even Sarah Michelle Gellar’s I Know What You Did Last Summer Scene Partners Knew About Her Cameo, And The Story Is Great

Sarah Michelle Gellar in I know what you did last summer
(Image credit: Columbia Pictures)

Spoilers ahead for the new I Know What You Did Last Summer.

It's a great time to be a horror fan, as the genre's renaissance is showing no signs of slowing down. Its popularity has resulted in some of the best horror movies returning to theaters, including the new I Know What You Did Last Summer. The movie featured a number of surprise cameos, and it turns out that Sarah Michelle Gellar's scene was so top secret that not even her co-star knew it was happening.

SMG lied about I Know What You Did Last Summer for months ahead of its release, where her character Helen appeared in a dream sequence. OG fans were hyped about seeing her back... despite dying back in the first movie. Director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson spoke to EW about just how tight security was when filming this sequence, offering:

Josh (Orpin), who played Wyatt, who was dead on the floor in the dream sequence, didn't know. No one had told him what he was shooting. So he came in to do one more thing for the film and was in the makeup chair, and they were making him look dead. And he looked at Madelyn and was like, 'What are we doing today?' And she's like, 'Oh my God, no one's told you.'

Now that is some top-notch secret keeping. This story also shows what a good sport Orpin was while filming; he showed up on time to work without even knowing what he was expected to shoot. Little did he know he'd get to share a scene with iconic scream queen Sarah Michelle Gellar.

In the new I Know What You Did Last Summer, Helen appears to the new protagonist, Danica Richards (Madelyn Cline), during a dream sequence, where she's haunted and mocked ahead of waking up. This was a clever way to bring Gellar back without having to retcon her death. Clearly, Robinson was keeping this scene under wraps, as she said in the same interview:

It was one of those things where it was kind of lock and key. It was never even in any of the pages. They were kind of pages unto themselves, and we really tried to do it as secretively as we could, so that it didn't get out that she was in the movie. I think we succeeded.

In the end, I Know What You Did Last Summer hit theaters without any of its cameos being spoiled. So even though Sarah Michelle Gellar posted from the set, her role in the new sequel still hit. And it was nice to have 3/4 of the original stars back for the latest sequel.

Of course, this wasn't the only major cameo. Brandy also appeared in the mid-credits scene, after her character Karla survived the first sequel, I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. While she didn't get into the action, hopefully another slasher is ordered.

I Know What You Did Last Summer is in theaters now as part of the 2025 movie release list. Sarah Michelle Gellar is currently filming the Buffy the Vampire Slayer reboot pilot, so there's a lot of nostalgic goodness surrounding the actress.

Corey Chichizola
Movies Editor

Corey was born and raised in New Jersey. Graduated with degrees theater and literature from Ramapo College of New Jersey. After working in administrative theater for a year in New York, he started as the Weekend Editor at CinemaBlend. He's since been able to work himself up to reviews, phoners, and press junkets-- and is now able to appear on camera with some of his favorite actors... just not as he would have predicted as a kid. He's particularly proud of covering horror franchises like Scream and Halloween, as well as movie musicals like West Side Story. Favorite interviews include Steven Spielberg, Spike Lee, Jamie Lee Curtis, and more. 

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