Jennifer Love Hewitt negotiations cause drama on the Aussie set of the I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot as ‘filming halts’ ahead of her return

Jennifer Love Hewitt has reportedly caused chaos on the set of the I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot as filming has ‘halted’ ahead of her return.

The American actress, 45, played Julie James in the 1997 horror classic and only finally confirmed her return for the highly anticipated reboot two weeks ago after months of speculation.

Filming had already started in Sydney last month when lead actor Freddie Prinze Jr flew Down Under 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 as to whether her cameo would work as she was expected to film with Freddie, who played her on-screen love interest Ray Bronson.

Now it’s claimed that although Jennifer is returning for the reboot, her lengthy negotiations before signing on for the role caused chaos on the Australian set.

A source on set exclusively told Ny Breaking Australia that Jennifer ruffled feathers during negotiations over her return over “conflicting” ideas about how her character Julie would return.

“Jennifer didn’t want to see Julie James return for a moment and you missed the ‘cameo,’” they claimed.

‘It was clear she wanted the role to be strengthened and while executives were waiting for her to sign off, everyone else in Australia had continued production.

“With the new I Know What You Did Last Summer director, he wasn’t particularly impressed that filming had been cut short.”

Jennifer reportedly didn’t agree with some of the writing and filming was ‘halted’ until she officially signed on to the project earlier this month.

The source added: ‘Production will go ahead once Jennifer Love Hewitt arrives and while there are some heads down, I’d say the young cast will be ecstatic to see the queen of I Know What You Did Last Summer walk and talk like Julie James again.’

Jennifer has already been very vocal about the fact that she doesn’t just want Julie to come back for a you’ll-miss cameo, and that she wants to have a good role in the reboot.

“When I come back 27 years later, I don’t want to be in it for just five seconds, I don’t want it to be like that thing that says, ‘Oh, well, there’s the spirit of I Know What You Did gone, here’s them,” she said Parade magazine last month.

“So I want to be able to make time to really be there for people and make it matter. So we’re working on it. We’re so close.’

It remains to be seen if Jennifer will film scenes with her former co-star Freddie, as he has already packed up in Australia and flown back to the US.

While he could return Down Under for another round of filming, their current lack of overlap on set has led to online fan theories that their characters have split.

“Fans wondered why and how Jennifer could return to the franchise considering her character’s love interest, Freddie, had already disappeared after 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.”

Ny Breaking Australia has contacted Jennifer’s representatives for comment.

Freddie, 48, He had long been rumored to reprise his role in the horror film reboot, with his wife Sarah, 47, finally confirming 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 revival.

However, last month she was on set to support Freddie and her best friend Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, who is directing.

“We joke that I have an unofficial job, which is continuity,” Sarah told People in October.

“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.”

Freddie and Sarah met on the set of I Know What You Did Last Summer, but didn’t start dating until 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 joining the cast of the I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot.

Monster star Nicholas Chavez, Matty Healy’s model fiance Gabbriette Bechtel and The Summer I Turned Pretty actress Lola Tung make up the cast.

Outerbanks’ Madelyn Cline, Bodies Bodies Bodies star Chase Sui Wonders and One Tree Hill icon Austin Nichols have also signed on for the release.

Details about the filming of the highly anticipated sequel have been kept under wraps until now, but the film is expected to hit theaters on July 18, 2025.

A reboot featuring the original stars had been in the works for a while, with reports indicating they were in talks to return as early as February 2023.

The original thriller follows four teenagers who accidentally run over a man and dump his body to cover up their crime, before being pursued by a killer who knows their secret.

Ryan Phillippe also starred, while Johnny Galecki, Bridgette Wilson and the late Anne Heche – who died in August 2022 at the age of 53 – also made up 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, starring Madison Iseman and Brianne Tju.