Behind the Edit: Why Lola Tung and Nicholas Alexander Chavez Were Cut from the I Know What You Did Last Summer Reboot
A fleeting moment of silver screen promise in summer heat – such poetic misplacement. In a recent revelation that still resonates like an unfinished verse, director Jennifer Kaytin Robinson confirmed that rising stars Lola Tung and Nicholas Alexander Chavez were slated for a scene in the I Know What You Did Last Summer reboot but ultimately did not make the final cut.
Robinson spoke to People on July 15 to set the record straight. “In every movie you have the best laid plans, and then you edit the movie and you put it together and you go, ‘I love this in a vacuum,’” she explained. “This is a fantastic scene. But it does not fit in the movie.” Her candid admission underscores the delicate art of pacing a horror film, even when that discarded scene features two performers fresh off hit TV series.
Lola Tung, 22, known for her breakout turn in The Summer I Turned Pretty, and Nicholas Alexander Chavez, 25, acclaimed for his role in Monsters The Lyle and Erik Menendez Story, were both enthusiastic about joining the Southport, North Carolina shoot. Yet despite their chemistry and on-screen promise, Robinson insists that seven minutes of their work simply disrupted the film’s tension. “It sucks because you do not want to do that to those actors,” she continued. “And it sucks when you love something as a scene but that scene just does not work in the final cut of the film.”
But fear not, dear cinema enthusiast, for the door remains ajar on future projects. “It had nothing to do with Lola and Nicholas – they are both so fantastic. I really would love to work with them again,” Robinson told E! Online. That promise of collaboration offers a silver lining to what might have been a disheartening experience for the performers.
While Tung and Chavez chase new opportunities, audiences will see a blend of familiar and fresh faces when the film premieres July 18. Madelyn Cline and Chase Sui Wonders join the horror narrative alongside returning icons Jennifer Love Hewitt and Freddie Prinze Jr. After a 1997 debut and a 1998 sequel, the franchise’s original duo reconvened with a mix of nostalgia and narrative purpose. “I wanted to make sure that she fit into the movie in the right way,” Hewitt told The Hollywood Reporter, speaking to her initial hesitance. Prinze Jr agreed, calling the reunion “whatever a high school reunion feels like.”
As the red carpet rolled out July 14, Sarah Michelle Gellar supported Prinze Jr while the likes of Seth Green, Austin Nichols, Tyriq Withers and others added star power to the Los Angeles premiere. Yet behind the glitz, the cut scene remains a whispered footnote – a testament to how even the brightest talents might vanish in the editing room.
The reels keep rolling, and the summer terror builds – but the silver screen is ever unforgiving. The reel fades to black – or is it just the opening scene of something new?
Sources: Celebrity Storm and People, E! Online, The Hollywood Reporter
Attribution: Creative Commons Licensed
