Fetch happens again on Jan. 12, 2024.
Get in, losers, there's a new Mean Girls movie coming!
On Wednesday, Paramount shared the first trailer for the upcoming comedy, which updates the beloved 2004 film with inspiration from the successful Broadway musical that followed -- both of which were written and produced by Tina Fey.
"It felt like we could kind of have the best of both worlds," Fey said of updating the Mean Girls story for the new film in ET's exclusive behind-the-scenes look. "We could have this great music, while still being able to live with our characters in a closeup -- to be able to have new jokes and new moments that are surprising to people."
The film is co-directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., and includes music from executive producer Jeff Richmond, who also wrote the music for the Mean Girls musical.
"The main thing that was important to me this time, in doing for the screen, was to find ways for it to be new and surprising to people," Fey added. "I think over the years I've realized that these characters and this story have had a much longer shelf life than anyone could have anticipated, and so to get to do something new with them, I think people will be surprised."
Here's a look at everything we know about the upcoming film:
TRAILER
The first Mean Girls trailer gives a look at how the story has been refreshed with new technology like TikTok and Snapchat, while also providing plenty of Easter eggs for fans of the original. (Keep an eye out for "She doesn't even go here!" Damian.)
Watch the full trailer -- which, of course, includes the iconic Christmas dance -- below:
CAST
Angourie Rice as Cady Heron
Best known for roles in Honor Society and Tom Holland's Spider-Man trilogy, Rice steps into fish-out-of-water protagonist story of Cady Heron, played by Lindsay Lohan in the original.
"She has that kind of deep intelligence that Cady needs to have," Fey raved of her new lead. Cady needs to be very smart, and Angourie really just delivers that, and has great timing and is just kind of radiant onscreen."
Reneé Rapp as Regina George
Rapp, who did a run as the Queen of the Plastics in the Mean Girls Broadway show, returns to embody the OG mean girl, originated by Rachel McAdams in the 2004 film.
"We had seen her audition for the Broadway show, and she wasn't sure if she wanted to do Broadway," Fey recalled of originally casting Rapp. "Lorne Michaels and I basically invited Reneé to his office and were like, 'You need to do this. You would be wasting your talent if you don't do a run of this before you launch your music career.' Thank goodness she said that she would like to, so she did an amazing run on Broadway as Regina George, and then has now launched her incredible music career, which is only gonna continue to explode."
"She's already a fan favorite. People love her. They love her voice, they love her presence, they love her core self -- her TikTok presence -- which is good, because Regina has to be a three-dimensional villain," she added. "You don't want it to be a two-dimensional person that you hate. You watch Reneé come into these scenes and be scary, but she's also kind of enthralling, and you get the thing of like, 'I do want her to like me. Does she like me?'"
Bebe Wood as Gretchen Wieners
Playing the rightful heir to the Toaster Strudel fortune, Wood -- who broke through as a 10-year-old actress on The New Normal before starring on shows like The Real O'Neals and Love, Victor -- follows Lacey Chabert as Regina's scheming right-hand Plastic.
"Her tape just leapt off the screen when she auditioned for the movie," Fey recalled. "It just was immediate to me, and to Lorne Michaels. We were like, 'Well, there's Gretchen. That's our Gretchen.'"
"Gretchen also has to be very intelligent, but have this kind of core of fragility that still has to be comic," she added. "And Bebe just understood that from the jump."
Avantika as Karen Shetty
The actress, who got her start in Telagu cinema before breaking through in English-language films like Senior Year and Spin, Avantika refreshed the ditsy but sweet role of Karen, originated by Amanda Seyfried.
"Similarly, we were like, 'There's Karen!' Just the moment we saw her tape," Fey recalled of casting the 18-year-old actress. "She is stunningly beautiful. She has this kind of innocent, kind core that Karen needs to have, and she has that warmth."
Auli’i Cravalho as Janis 'Imi'ike
The Moana star plays a reimagined version of the misunderstood outcast who first befriends Cady. While there's a little more color in her wardrobe this time around, Cravalho has the right attitude to channel Lizzy Caplan's original version of the character.
"She is awesome," Fey raved. "She is also one of the most, I don't know if you say telegenic for film? Is she cinegenic? But she is one of the most beautiful actors onscreen. Her face is just -- you could just watch dailies of her for hours."
"And she brings the kind of fierceness that Janis needs to have, the underpinning of resentment at what's been done to her in the past," she added. "You fully believe that she is an artist because Auli’i is an artist in her way."
Jacquel Spivey as Damian Hubbard
The stage actor makes his film debut in Mean Girls, playing Janis' BFF, Damian, who was portrayed in the original -- famously as "too gay to function" -- by Daniel Franzese.
"I'd seen Jaquel in Strange Loop on Broadway, and immediately thought, 'This guy's incredible,'" Fey recalled. "It will be a surprise to no one that he's incredibly talented and hilarious, and also has that kind of warmth underneath that you need for Damian to have. Damian really does care about his friend, Janis. He cares about his friend, Cady. And so yeah, Jaquel's amazing."
Christopher Briney as Aaron Samuels
Familiar with on-screen love triangles from his starring role in The Summer I Turned Pretty, Briney takes on the role of dreamy love interest to both Cady and Regina -- originally played by Jonathan Bennett.
Busy Philipps as Mrs. George
Amy Poehler's scene-stealing performance as Regina's overenthusiastic and out-of-touch mom was a fan favorite from the original, leaving big implants for Philipps to fill. But the trailer shows that the Cougartown star has just the manic energy for the performance.
"For sure, Regina! For sure!" she replies when her daughter commands her to "go make snacks."
Jenna Fischer as Mrs. Heron
The Office star plays the maternal role that Fey's SNL castmate, Ana Gasteyer, originated in the 2004 film.
Tina Fey as Ms. Norbury
Fey reprises her role as math teacher Ms. Norbury in the upcoming film -- though we worry about her second job, as mall chain restaurants like "P.J. Calamity's" have not fared well in the years since the original movie.
Tim Meadows as Principal Duvall
Likely just as frazzled as ever by the Gen Z student populous, Meadows is also back in his original role from the first Mean Girls. However, since he's managed to keep his job all these years, we doubt he's still wielding that baseball bat.
Jon Hamm as Coach Carr
Likely one of the roles that will be the most revised due to modern sensibilities, Hamm plays Coach Carr, who is also, unfortunately, the students' sex ed teacher. The part was played by Dwayne Hill in the original film, where the coach was also revealed to be a sexual predator who was having relationships with students.
Ashley Park as Madame Park
A new role for the updated film, the Emily in Paris star plays a French teacher who insists on Cady, Janis and Damian picking new French names for her class, turning down the latter's suggestions of "Chanel," "Celine Dion" and "Beyoncé."
POSTERS
RELEASE DATE
While originally planned for a streaming release on Paramount+, Mean Girls will strut into theaters on Jan. 12, 2024.
Fey's interview was conducted prior to the ongoing SAG-AFTRA strike, which began on July 14, 2023.
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