I Know What You Did Last Summer's Mid-Credits Scene Pays Perfect Homage To A Terrible Movie

This article contains spoilers for 2025's "I Know What You Did Last Summer."

When "I Know What You Did Last Summer" debuted in 1997, it was met with a mixed reception by critics, but brought in a Billy Blue-sized boatload of cash at the box office. A $17 million shooting budget nabbed $125.3 million before enjoying a sizable chunk of change thanks to the still-booming home video rental market. A sequel was inevitable, and just over a year later, "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer" hit theaters. Although boasting a 10% on Rotten Tomatoes isn't something to write home about (or threatening letters in Sharpie, if you will), it was still a financial success.

Unfortunately, the sequel's less-than-stellar reception didn't help launch the series into a formidable franchise. The direct-to-video sequel "I'll Always Know What You Did Last Summer" arrived nearly a decade after the party was over, and the Prime Video series adaptation from 2021 was canceled after just one season.

But when it was announced that Jennifer Kaytin Robinson was crafting a legacyquel (read my positive review here), and that Freddie Prinze Jr. and Jennifer Love Hewitt would be reprising their roles as Ray Bronson and Julie James, diehard fans had one question: Where is Karla Wilson? Portrayed by the Vocal Bible herself, Brandy Norwood, Karla was Julie's roommate in "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer." She was fortunate enough to survive the return of Ben Willis/The Fisherman, and considering Brandy has been popping up in horror movies recently, there was a hope she'd return to the franchise.

While Brandy doesn't appear in the main events of the new film, she does show up during a mid-credits scene that not only recontextualizes the entire tone of the legacyquel, but also teases the kind of team-up between Julie and Karla fans were denied by the disappointing "I Still Know."

Karla wasn't just Julie's roommate; she was the first best friend she made after the murder of her first best friend, Helen Shivers (Sarah Michelle Gellar). Casting Brandy was a genius move because it's hard to overstate how massively popular she was in the 1990s. Her second studio album, "Never Say Never," went certified quintuple platinum, she was starring in her own TV show, "Moesha," would soon be turned into a celebrity doll by Barbie manufacturer Mattel, she portrayed "Cinderella" in the now-beloved made-for-TV movie for Disney, and was doing this all before she turned 20. While Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. were teen superstars in their own right, Brandy Norwood was undoubtedly the reason to show up to "I Still Know What You Did Last Summer." And although the slasher wasn't well-received, everyone loved Karla.

Unlike Sidney Prescott's roommate Hallie in "Scream 2," Karla doesn't meet her end as a result of living with a final girl. She was funny, supportive, a good student, ridiculously stylish, and a little bit naive, but armed with the one skill that most characters in slasher films seem to lack: self-preservation. Karla is rightfully pissed when Julie cries out, "I just wanted it to be over, I didn't want to involve anybody else," and it's so refreshing to see a character refuse to curb their emotions to placate the lead character. When people started dying, Karla never acted without thinking things through, and was proactive in trying to get the hell out of the danger zone rather than stick around and wait to become another tally on The Fisherman's body count.

Karla was put through the wringer and had more close calls than even Julie and Ray, and still made it out alive.

After the events of "I Know What You Did Last Summer" 2025, the mid-credits scene sees Karla watching the news to see that her old roommate Julie James has once again escaped death, this time at the hands of her ex-husband, Ray. She jokes about how danger can't seem to leave her old friend alone when there's a knock at the door. It seems as if The Fisherman might be coming to pay her a visit, but it's Julie. The two old friends reunite when Julie shows Karla that she's received a note indicating that the hell isn't over, and she needs her help. Without hesitation, Karla asks who they have to f*** up this time, teasing a reunion team-up where Julie and Karla put an end to The Fisherman and his copycats for good.

This moment is not only a great bit of fan service and a perfect launchpad for a sequel, but it also recontextualizes the film that came before it. This is not a legacyquel to the first film, but the entire film franchise as we know it. It's the parallel of the new film having two final girls instead of one, and a confirmation that the campy humor on display was intentional, because it's keeping with the tone set by the second and third films. I have no idea if we'll get the Karla & Julie revenge thriller we deserve, but as far as mid-credits scenes go, "I Know What You Did Last Summer" hooked a real winner.

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