Thehorrorgenre keeps riding the wave of legacy sequels and reboots, through which some of the biggest franchises have been brought back to life – so it’s not that surprising that two unlikely horror franchises are returning, too. The film industry has greatly benefited from reboots and legacy sequels in recent years, mostly in the horror genre, even if not all of these have succeeded. Franchises likeThe ExorcistandThe Texas Chainsaw Massacrereturned with one movie that didn’t perform well, while others likeFriday the 13thcontinue to face many challengesthat stop them from coming back.
Other horror franchises have greatly benefited from this trend, as happened withHalloweenandScream, while others will be getting a new chance, as is the case forThe Exorcist. All these franchises are some of the most successful, popular, and profitable ones in the genre, so it was even expected that they would be rebooted at some point. Now, two unlikely horror franchises are also returning with new movies, and though they aren’t ones that would be expected to get a reboot, at this point I’m not surprised and it actually makes a lot of sense.
I Know What You Did Last Summer & Final Destination Are Getting Reboot/Sequels
Two Of The Most Popular Slasher Franchises Are Being Revived
These unlikely horror franchises areI Know What You Did Last SummerandFinal Destination. First isFinal Destination, which began in 2000 with the movie of the same name directed by James Wong.Final Destinationfollows Alex Browning (Devon Sawa), a high school student who has a catastrophic vivid vision on board a plane that it will explode in mid-air, killing him and the rest. Alex, a teacher, and other classmates are removed from the plane, and minutes later, it explodes. However, as they were all meant to be on the plane and die, they disrupt Death’s plan, and they begin to die in strange circumstances.
Despite getting negative reviews,Final Destinationwas a box-office hit, and it spawned a franchise with four sequels, all of them following a new group of survivors trying to avoid Death’s seemingly unavoidable plan.Final Destination 5was released in 2011 and was believed to be the final chapter in the franchise, but in 2019, a new movie was announced to be in development. After going through different writers and more, the sixthFinal Destinationmovie, titledFinal Destination: Bloodlines, found its directors in Zach Lipovsky and Adam Stein, with a script by Guy Busick and Lori Evans Taylor.
It has also been said thatBloodlineswill explore William Bludworth’s backstory, and Tony Todd is the only character from past Final Destination movies to return in the new movie.
What’s known about the story ofFinal Destination: Bloodlinesis that it won’t follow the franchise’s formula of a group of survivors trying to cheat death, andit will focus on first responders and emergency workers, who are already familiar with death but will now be in its path. It has also been said thatBloodlineswill explore William Bludworth’s backstory, and Tony Todd is the only character from pastFinal Destinationmoviesto return in the new movie. At the time of writing,Final Destination: Bloodlinesis scheduled for a August 17, 2025, release.
Tony Todd passed away on August 23, 2025.
The franchise ofI Know What You Did Last Summerstarted in 1973 with Lois Duncan’s novel of the same name, which was loosely adapted into the 1997 slasher we all know and love (or, at least, I do).I Know What You Did Last Summerfollows friends Julie James (Jennifer Love Hewitt), Ray Bronson (Freddie Prinze Jr.), Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar), and Barry Cox (Ryan Phillippe), who accidentally run over a man. Believing him to be dead, they dump his body in the water, but he wakes up right before he falls and tries to attack them.
As they leave him to drown, the group swears to never discuss what happened, but a year later, they begin to receive threatening letters from someone who claims to know what they did. The group also starts to be stalked by a mysterious man in a black fisherman’s coat and wielding a hook, with which he kills his victims.I Know What You Did Last Summergot mixed reviews but was a box office hit, granting it a direct sequel in 1998, titledI Still Know What You Did Last Summer, a straight-to-video standalone sequel in 2006, and a TV adaptation in 2021.
The newI Know What You Did Last Summermovie was announced to be in early development in early 2023, with Jennifer Kaytin Robinson directing and Sam Lansky and Robinson penning the script.Plot details about the newI Know What You Did Last Summermovie are unknown, but it’s confirmed to be a sequel to the second movie and social media will factor into the story. The new cast ofI Know What You Did Last Summerincludes Jonah Hauer-King, Billy Campbell, Nicholas Alexander Chavez, Madelyn Cline, Austin Nichols, Gabbriette, Chase Sui Wonders, Sarah Pidgeon, and Tyriq Withers.
I Really Need The New I Know What You Did Last Summer Movie To Avoid This Legacy Sequel Tradition
The new I Know What You Did Last Summer movie is officially bringing back an original character, and I need it to avoid a legacy sequel tradition.
I Know What You Did Last Summerwill also have its main characters back, asPrinze Jr. and Hewitt are confirmed to return as Ray and Julie, and it’s currently scheduled for a July 13, 2025, release. It’s to be seen if Brandy will also reprise her role as Karla, the other survivor of the second movie, as well as how big Prinze Jr. and Hewitt’s roles will be now that there’s a new generation of characters involved.
Both Horror Franchises Are Unlikely Choices To Be Rebooted
Anything Is Possible In The Horror Genre
I Know What You Did Last SummerandFinal Destinationare unlikely choices to get reboots for different reasons.I Know What You Did Last Summerwasn’t the best slasher of the 1990sand even Duncan herself was critical of it, as it made many changes to her novel, mostly to turn it into a slasher movie. As mentioned above, the movie wasn’t a critical success, but its popularity with the general audience is what led to its sequel being greenlit, but the second movie couldn’t carry on with the franchise.
I don’t think I need to mention how bad the 2006 straight-to-video standalone sequel, I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, and the 2021 TV show were.
I Still Know What You Did Last Summergot an even worse critical reception and was a box office failure, ending the franchise’s theatrical branch – and I don’t think I need to mention how bad the 2006 straight-to-video standalone sequel,I’ll Always Know What You Did Last Summer, and the 2021 TV show were. Due to the critical reception of all the entries in theI Know What You Did Last Summerfranchise and its reputation as a cheesy teen horror saga, it’s not a franchise one would have thought would be chosen for a reboot with a legacy sequel.
On the other hand,Final Destinationis an unlikely choice because it already has many sequels. Surely, the quality of most of the sequels was a lot lower than the one of the first movie, but they’re still fairly good movies.Final Destinationhad already had a supposed final chapter withThe Final Destinationin 2009, but later cameFinal Destination 5, though, if we are talking about chronological order,The Final Destinationwould be the last movie in the saga, as the fifth movie was a surprise prequel.
How To Watch The Final Destination Movies In Order
There is a subtle difference between the chronological and release date orders of the Final Destination franchise - which is the best way to watch?
I wouldn’t have expectedFinal Destinationto get a sixth movie over a decade after the fifth movie, but luckily, the franchise still has an audience that is now excited about a new story. What’s going to be exciting with these two projects is how they will connect to the previous movies and whatever new stuff they bring to their respective franchises.
Horror Reboots Are Easy Wins For Hollywood Studios
Studios Have Taken Note Of Recent Horror Reboots
What makes me not surprised thatI Know What You Did Last SummerandFinal Destinationare coming back with new movies is that horror reboots have been a win for studios, regardless of their success.Nostalgia is a huge factor, and it can be quite profitable, so even if the movie is bad, it’s still highly likely to be a box-office hit thanks to the audience’s curiosity and desire to relive the past somehow. In addition to this, the success of other, rebooted franchises shows the best way to revive these worlds and not die trying, as is the case ofScream.
It wouldn’t surprise me if other, smaller, and perhaps not very successful horror franchises were brought back.
Scream’s reboot succeeded as it was more of a soft reboot with a younger cast and legacy characters, and it’s the model that studios have been trying to follow with other reboots. This and more make horror reboots a big business for Hollywood, so it wouldn’t surprise me if other, smaller, and perhaps not very successfulhorrorfranchises are brought back ifI Know What You Did Last Summer 4andFinal Destination: Bloodlinessucceed.
Final Destination Bloodlines
Final Destination Bloodlines follows college student Stefanie, who is tormented by a violent recurring nightmare. She returns home to seek out the individual who might disrupt the cycle and prevent her family from facing their ominous fate.
