Even the cast of Amazon’s I Know What You Did Last Summer didn’t know the killer’s identity

Every character on Amazon’s I Know What You Did Last Summer could potentially be a killer. At the 2021 New York Comic Con on Friday, the cast and creator of the upcoming horror redux series gathered for a virtual panel to debut some new footage, introduce their characters, and insist that they too had theories about whodunnit. There were even some surprises from the original 1997 cast … a passing of the hook, if you will.

The series is a new adaptation of Lois Duncan’s novel I Know What You Did Last Summer, which the 1997 film was based on. Though the film had several sequels, the series is not another sequel, or reboot, or set in the film universe. There are all new characters, and likely a different killer among them just to keep us on our toes.

Let’s round up the suspects: Actor Madison Iseman does double duty as twins named Lennon and Allison. Lennon is the popular valedictorian, and Allison is more quiet and artsy. “You can’t really know what she’s thinking,” said Iseman. Ezekiel Goodman plays Dylan, “who is very concerned with doing the right thing.” When asked who was most challenging to write for, series creator Sara Goodman said Dylan, and the actor smiled knowingly before she even answered the question.

Brianne Tju plays the bright and “sometimes obnoxious” Margot. “She has Main Character Energy,” said Tju. Ashley Moore plays the tough “underdog” Riley, who isn’t sure if her friends like her for her or for her drug connection. “She’s very much in love with her best friend,” teased Moore. Finally, there’s Sebastian Amoruso as the quarterback Johnny. “I think he’s the drummer of this group,” said Amoruso. “He keeps things together without drawing attention to himself.”

While the characters in this adaptation are brand new, the basic plot is the same. Per the official show description, “One year after the fatal car accident that haunted their graduation night, a group of teenagers find themselves bound together by a dark secret and stalked by a brutal killer. As they try to piece together who’s after them, they reveal the dark side of their seemingly perfect town—and themselves. Everyone is hiding something, and uncovering the wrong secret could be deadly.”

Goodman was an executive producer on both Preacher and Gossip Girl. This show should combine the gorier aspects of the former with the teen drama of the latter.

“I didn’t want anyone to know [who the killer is] until the last minute,” Goodman said. “Even on a subconscious level. I didn’t want anyone to be reacting to that actor differently. I felt like it was very very important that everybody not know until they had to know — which made everybody crazy.” Goodman said that her phone is filled with texts from cast members who insisted they knew who the killer was at various points during filming.

At the very end of the panel, members of the original cast (Sarah Michelle Gellar, Freddie Prinze Jr., Ryan Phillipe, and Jennifer Love Hewitt) dropped by to ask some “fan” questions and bless/pass the torch to the new cast. When asked if she was open to any cameos from the OG IKWYDLS cast, Goodman teased that, should the show be renewed for season 2, “in season 1 there may be an opening for [a future cameo] for season 2.” But first let’s get through the first season, and see who, if anyone, survives.