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26 years later, it’s still a complete travesty that one of the most iconic horror characters wasn’t a final girl

She can never be forgotten.

I Know What You Did Last Summer
Image via Columbia Pictures

From Halloween’s Laurie Strode to Ready or Not’s Grace Le Domas, the ever-popular horror genre has introduced thrill-seeking audiences to a plethora of memorable final girls. And while the majority of these familiar faces are etched in horror history and continue to be admired, let us not forget a handful of iconic characters that weren’t able to enjoy their moment in the spotlight as their film’s final girl. This is precisely the case for Helen Shivers from 1997’s slasher spectacle I Know What You Did Last Summer.

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Portrayed by the ridiculously talented Sarah Michelle Gellar, Shivers was arguably the most iconic and memorable character from the film, although her tragic demise towards the ending minutes completely snatched her capability of becoming a final girl. This realization continues to creep into horror fanatics’ minds, with one user over on Twitter taking a moment to ponder what could have been. You can check out the post for yourself down below:

Interestingly enough, 1997 proved to be an extremely difficult year for Gellar in horror films — with her character Cici Cooper in Scream 2 being tragically murdered as well. But despite her characters being killed off in separate movies, horror die-hards still have Gellar’s characters — Helen Shivers, in particular — in their hearts over 26 years after IKWYDLS first released in theaters.

Who knows? With an official legacy sequel already dotted on all of our radars, there’s no discounting that Gellar could either make a flashback appearance or return to the franchise in a completely different light. Either way, we’ll be seated for the blood-stained sequel when it’s ready to spread its wings.