Amazon’s upcoming Cruel Intentions reboot has announced its new cast roster, which features the return of an actor from the original 1999 film. Based on the classic 1782 French novel Les Liaisons dangereuses (Dangerous Liaisons), Cruel Intentions starred Sarah Michelle Gellar and Ryan Phillippe as a pair of wealthy step-siblings who make a sinister bet to seduce their headmaster’s chaste daughter (Reese Witherspoon). In 2021, it was announced that a new television reboot was in development for Amazon’s IMDb TV, now known as Freevee. Amazon officially placed an eight-episode order for the series in April this year.
Now Variety has revealed the cast roster of the Cruel Intentions reboot, which includes Sean Patrick Thomas, who played Selma Blair’s besotted music teacher Ronald in the original film. Thomas is set to play a new character named Professor Chadwick. Meanwhile, other announced cast members include Sarah Catherine Hook, Zac Burgess, Brooke Lena Johnson, Sara Silva, John Harlan Kim, and Myra Molloy.
What We Know About The Cruel Intentions Reboot
Initially developed as an independent film, the original Cruel Intentions was later picked up by Columbia Pictures and released to considerable box office success. Buoyed by the performances of its stellar cast and its modernized retelling of a well-known story, the 1999 film would go on to become an instant cult classic, spawning two direct-to-video sequels and a stage musical adaptation. Yet, by all appearances, audiences should not expect the new TV series reboot to be a straight reworking of the original film or a repeat of NBC’s failed efforts to create a Cruel Intentions sequel series.
Moving the story from a New York City high school to an elite college in Washington D.C., Cruel Intentions' official description reveals that when a brutal hazing ritual goes wrong and threatens “the entire Panhellenic system”, the show’s new step-siblings will do whatever is necessary to maintain their place atop the social hierarchy. This even includes attempting to seduce the daughter of the U.S. Vice President. Thomas’ new role as a college professor will likely place him right at the center of many of the reboot’s unfolding schemes and scandals.
When Cruel Intentions was officially greenlit back in April, it was also reported that the finished show could potentially move from Freevee to Prime Video. With filming officially set to get underway in Toronto later this month, audiences should probably expect the series to arrive on screens sometime in 2024. Whether the new Cruel Intentions reboot can live up to the legacy of the original remains to be seen, but bringing back one of the film’s original stars bodes well for the show’s prospects.
Source: Variety