It’s a good time to be someone who clings to nostalgia, as it has been announced that the film adaptation of the Mean Girls musical has finally started filming.
Tina Fey, who wrote the teen comedy classic, announced in 2020 that the musical would be making its way from stage to screen. “I’m very excited to bring Mean Girls back to the big screen,” said Fey. “It’s been incredibly gratifying to see how much the movie and the musical have meant to audiences. I’ve spent 16 years with these characters now. They are my Marvel Universe and I love them dearly.”
The musical version made its debut in Washington in 2017 before moving to Broadway in 2018. However, the musical’s time on stage was short-lived due to the COVID-19 pandemic. It was announced in January 2021 that the musical had closed after only 833 performances—which was not very fetch, if you ask us.
With the show not getting to be seen by as many people as it should have, we’re so excited about the film, and we have all the details you need to know.
Who is starring in the Mean Girls musical movie?
Spider-Man actress Angourie Rice is set to play Cady Heron, while Renée Rapp (The Sex Lives of College Girls) will reprise her role from the Broadway show as Regina George. Joining Rapp in the Plastics crew are Bebe Wood and Avantika Vandanapu as Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith, respectively.
Moana’s Auli’i Cravalho will be everyone’s favorite sort-of mean girl Janis, while her flamboyantly gay best friend Damian will be played by Jaquel Spivey. Regina’s boyfriend—and the one who causes all of the chaos—Aaron Samuels will be played by Christopher Briney.
Tina Fey will reprise her role from the original film as Ms. Norbury, along with Tim Meadows as Principal Duvall.
Does the Mean Girls musical follow the same plot as the 2004 movie?
Yes, the musical largely follows the same plot as the original. After spending her childhood in Africa with her zoologist parents, Cady comes to America, where she struggles to fit in at school and doesn’t feel as though she belongs with any of the cliques (burnouts, desperate wannabes, and sexually active band geeks, to name a few) before befriending Janis and Damian. She then infiltrates the Plastics (Regina, Gretchen, and Karen), and gets entangled with their meanness when she develops a crush on Regina’s on-again, off-again boyfriend Aaron.
Will any of the original Mean Girls cast make cameos?
According to Amanda Seyfried, the original four Plastics (Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert, and of course Seyfried) are all up for it.
She told Entertainment Tonight in February, “It’s been a long legacy for Mean Girls, and I think we all kinda just need to hang.” Though she pointed out that, ultimately, it wasn’t up to them if they would appear or not, she said, “All four of us are 100% into it.”
Seyfried had ideas about who they could play, too. “Maybe the mothers of our characters?” she mused. “That’s what I was thinking, but listen, I have not even seen the script.”
We are begging you, Tina Fey, let the original Plastics make cameos!
Is there a release date for the Mean Girls musical movie?
Unfortunately, no, but we do know that the film is produced by Paramount Pictures and will eventually arrive on Paramount+ (and hopefully in cinemas, too). Considering they’ve just begun filming, we would say audiences can expect the Mean Girls musical adaptation to release sometime in the next year.
(featured image: Paramount Pictures)
