"Why Lola Tung and Nicholas Alexander Chavez's Roles Were Reduced in 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'"

The highly anticipated reboot of I Know What You Did Last Summer slashes into theaters on July 18 with all the ingredients of a summer screamfest: a hook-wielding killer, a haunting Fourth of July secret and a seriously hot cast that includes Outer Banks’ Madelyn Cline, The Little Mermaid’s Jonah Hauer-King, Generation’s Chase Sui Wonders, Tiny Beautiful Things star Sarah Pidgeon and newcomer Tyriq Withers. But eagle-eyed fans have noticed two big names missing from the movie’s final lineup — and no, you’re not imagining things.

Lola Tung (The Summer I Turned Pretty) and Nicholas Alexander Chavez (Monsters: The Erik and Lyle Menendez Story) were originally set to appear in the 2025 reboot. In fact, their casting was announced back in November 2024 alongside Austin Nichols and Gabbriette Bechtel. So, what happened?

According to director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson, Lola and Nicholas filmed what was supposed to be the opening scene — but the footage didn’t make the final cut.

“It happens. You shoot something and, when you watch the scene, it doesn’t fit in the film,” Jennifer told Variety. “It didn’t work within the film that we were creating. And when you’re trying to make something that’s bold, sometimes that happens.”

That said, the decision had nothing to do with their performance. “They are both so fantastic. I really would love to work with them again. I loved working with them. They did a fabulous job,” Jennifer added in a separate interview with People. “But in the larger tapestry of the film, it just didn’t fit. It sucks because you don’t want to do that to those actors. And it sucks when you love something as a scene but that scene just doesn’t work in the final cut of the film.”

Thankfully, there’s no drama behind the scenes. “Everybody was so professional about it. They’re so sweet, so lovely. They totally got it,” Jennifer said. “Maybe they’ll make the sequel.”

Nicholas, for his part, had a great time working on the project — even if he wasn’t familiar with the franchise beforehand. “All of the horror fans are going to come for me as soon as they see this [interview], but I had no idea what I Know What You Did Last Summer was before they came to me with the idea,” he told The Hollywood Reporter. “So I got back on the phone and I talked to the director, Jen, and I was listening to her pitch… and I was like, ‘Yeah.’ I was just so excited. So I flew down to Australia, and we filmed the thing. God, I just had a really great time.”

The new film picks up with a group of high school friends who cause a fatal car crash on the Fourth of July and vow to keep it a secret. But a year later, someone knows what they did — and starts picking them off one by one. The sequel also sees the return of OG stars Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. as Julie James and Ray Bronson, who survived a similar nightmare back in 1997 (and again in the Bahamas in the 1998 sequel).

While fans will no doubt miss seeing Lola and Nicholas onscreen, there’s still hope. As Jennifer teased: “Maybe they’ll make the sequel.”