10 Horror Movies That Changed Their Franchise

7. I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer

Evil Dead II
Sony

Not only did I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer change its franchise, it essentially tanked it.

The initial plan for this threequel was for it to directly follow the prior two Last Summer pictures, picking things up again with Julie James and Ray Bronson as they once more find themselves in the crosshairs of a hook-wielding killer fisherman.

Due to various issues, it took eight whole years for I'll Always Know to finally arrive. And when it did, the film received a straight-to-DVD release, had zero to do with the first two movies or their characters, and took the franchise in a 'bold' new direction. That new direction? Why, that's to make the series' villain, Ben Willis, into a supernatural entity. So, rather than a standard slasher franchise, the Last Summer IP suddenly became a spooky, ghostly one.

Unsurprisingly, I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer was a total dud. As in, one of those total duds that you just remove from your memory and pretend that this franchise is merely just a two-movie affair.

Still, earlier this year saw rumblings of the franchise getting a 'legacy sequel' - think 2022's Scream - which if it does happen, will surely ignore absolutely everything to do with I'll Always Know.

 
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Once described as the Swiss Army Knife of WhatCulture, Andrew can usually be found writing, editing, or presenting on a wide range of topics. As a lifelong wrestling fan, horror obsessive, and comic book nerd, he's been covering those topics professionally as far back as 2010. In addition to his current WhatCulture role of Senior Content Producer, Andrew previously spent nearly a decade as Online Editor and Lead Writer for the world's longest-running genre publication, Starburst Magazine, and his work has also been featured on BBC, TechRadar, Tom's Guide, WhatToWatch, Sportkskeeda, and various other outlets, in addition to being a Rotten Tomatoes-approved film critic. Between his main day job, his role as the lead panel host of Wales Comic Con, and his gig as a pre-match host for Wrexham AFC games, Andrew has also carried out a hugely varied amount of interviews, from the likes of Robert Englund, Kane Hodder, Adrienne Barbeau, Rob Zombie, Katharine Isabelle, Leigh Whannell, Bruce Campbell, and Tony Todd, to Kevin Smith, Ron Perlman, Elijah Wood, Giancarlo Esposito, Simon Pegg, Charlie Cox, the Russo Brothers, and Brian Blessed, to Kevin Conroy, Paul Dini, Tara Strong, Will Friedle, Burt Ward, Andrea Romano, Frank Miller, and Rob Liefeld, to Bret Hart, Sting, Mick Foley, Ricky Starks, Jamie Hayer, Britt Baker, Eric Bischoff, and William Regal, to Mickey Thomas, Joey Jones, Phil Parkinson, Brian Flynn, Denis Smith, Gary Bennett, Karl Connolly, and Bryan Robson - and that's just the tip of an ever-expanding iceberg. Where his beloved Wrexham AFC is concerned, Andrew is co-host of the Fearless in Devotion podcast, which won the Club Podcast of the Year gong at the 2024 FSA Awards.