“I Know What You Did Last Summer” twisty ending explained: Who's the new Fisherman?

This article contains spoilers about I Know What You Did Last Summer.

I Know What You Did Last Summer is the sort of nostalgia vibe audiences have been craving lately.

A bloody love letter to slashers with a very 2025 understanding of the effects of trauma, it's a tribute to the generation who wore out their VHS copies of the original '90s hit. But it's the new movie's twist-filled ending that has fans screaming in delight.

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Do Revenge helmer Jennifer Kaytin Robinson directs the sequel, which features a new Gen Z cast alongside two original survivors: Jennifer Love Hewitt as Julie James and Freddie Prinze Jr. as Ray Bronson. But don't expect a simple retread. The film, a follow-up to 1998's I Still Know What You Did Last Summer, builds toward a reveal that flips the franchise on its hook-wielding head — and yes, the Fisherman is still very much looking for vengeance once again.

Let's break down that wild ending.

Brook Rushton/Columbia Pictures

Sarah Pidgeon, Madelyn Cline and Chase Sui Wonders in 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'

After Grant Spencer and his son Teddy (Tyriq Withers) are slain and hung up on the marina like the day's fresh catch, Ray tells Ava (Chase Sui Wonders), Danica (Madelyn Cline), and Stevie (Sarah Pidgeon) to take a boat and leave Southport as quickly as they can.

But once they're out to sea, Stevie reveals herself to be the killer. In a crazed monologue, she explains that she has harbored a grudge against the group of friends for years, ever since they abandoned her when her dad left town. Fortunately, she found support in Ray, who stepped up to become something of a surrogate father, in addition to being her boss at the local bar. After a stint in rehab, she got sober and joined a church, where she met a man and fell in love.

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When she reconnects with her estranged friends at the beginning of the movie, they convince her to take a fateful drive to Reaper's Curve to watch the Fourth of July fireworks. And that's when they accidentally run a car off the road and over the cliff. When Stevie later learns that the now-deceased driver was the man she had fallen for at church, she decides to don the Fisherman's slicker and teach her so-called friends a lesson.

While Stevie confesses her sordid scheme, Ava manages to call Ray for help. He jumps in his boat and races toward their location.

Brook Rushton/ Columbia Pictures

Sarah Pidgeon as Stevie in 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'

After a struggle, Stevie finally knocks Danica overboard and goes after Ava. But just then, Ray shows up to be the hero again. Pointing a gun at Stevie, he asks her why she resorted to murder instead of just asking for his help. When it becomes clear she's well beyond saving, Ray reluctantly shoots her, presumably dead.

He then takes the wheel, while Ava makes a call to Julie to tell her they are safe. Now an expert on complex PTSD and trauma, Julie's survivor's instinct flares when Ava tells her, "I don't know how she could have done all that alone."

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Back at Ray's bar in Southport, Ava watches him take his jacket off and notices that his arm is bandaged in the exact spot where she cut the killer earlier in the film.

Ava tries to play it cool, casually telling Ray she needs to leave, but when she goes to the door, she discovers the exit is locked. Ray comes toward her now, holding a hook, admitting that he and Stevie were working together, and implying he only fired blanks on the boat (meaning she's still alive). "You can't underestimate the lengths someone will go to avenge what is taken from them," he says. "You never move on from something like this. It just changes you."

Columbia Pictures/Courtesy Everett (2)

Freddie Prinze Jr in 1997's 'I Know What You Did Last Summer and 1998's 'I Still Know What You Did Last Summer'

He then stabs Ava, and just as it seems like her luck has run out, Julie arrives.

She confronts her former husband, asking how he could use what happened to them as a playbook for new murders. Ray explains that he was killing two birds with one stone by helping Stevie heal, while also ensuring that Southport would never forget the original Fisherman murders. The latter is especially important to Ray because Grant Spencer, the town's wealthiest property developer, had been quietly trying to bury what had happened to him, Julie, Helen, Barry, and others. (Turns out, being a breeding ground for serial killers isn't great for property value.)

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As Ray turns his hook to Julie, she defiantly repeats her classic line from the first film: "What are you waiting for, huh? What are you waiting for?" Ray takes a step toward her, and just as he's about to strike, Ava shoots him from behind with a harpoon.

Matt Kennedy/Columbia Pictures

Jennifer Love Hewitt in 'I Know What You Did Last Summer'

As the film ends, Stevie's fate remains unclear, but we do learn that Danica is still alive despite her injuries. We leave her and Ava chowing down on the beach, enjoying their first meal in days, and joking about finding Stevie to exact their own revenge.

But that doesn't seem to be the end for the Fisherman saga. A mid-credits stinger sees the return of Brandy Norwood, reprising her role as Karla Wilson from 1998's I Still Know What You Did Last Summer. She's alive, thriving, and not surprised when Julie shows up at her door holding a photo with Karla's face crossed out and a letter reading: "It isn't over."

"Who do we have to f--- up this time?" she says, straight-faced.

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After that ending? We're already sharpening the hooks.

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I Know What You Did Last Summer is now out in theaters.

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