While Paramount+’s Mean Girls musical reboot has the potential to be great, it has to incorporate one more aspect of the original movie to full work. The original Mean Girls first came out in 2004, starring Lindsay Lohan as Cady Heron, who changes drastically after befriending the popular girls at her new school. In 2017, a musical based on the original Mean Girls movie (both of which were written by Tina Fey) premiered, quickly becoming popular. Fey announced a movie adaptation of the musical in 2020, which is now in development at Paramount+.
Adaptations often have the reputation of being worse than the original. The names already attached to Paramount+’s Mean Girls are impressive, giving the movie musical the potential to live up to the beloved original. However, there are a few iconic people involved in the original Mean Girls that are conspicuously missing from the new movie.
Paramount's Mean Girls Movie Needs Its Original Cast
Although there are lots of qualities that make Paramount+’s Mean Girls reboot promising, it needs to include its original cast for its best possible future. Mean Girls’ story is great by itself, so the reboot will likely do well for Paramount+ regardless. However, a big part of what made 2004’s Mean Girls so great was the core cast of characters, played by now-huge actors like Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams, and Amanda Seyfried, so bringing them back is in the reboot’s best interest.
The biggest reason that Paramount+’s Mean Girls musical movie needs to bring back its original cast is because the actors have expressed they are willing to return. According to Amanda Seyfried, “All four of us are 100% into [appearing in the movie].” (via ET) Seyfried suggested potential ways that the original Mean Girls core cast could appear, such as appearing as the main characters’ parents. However, Seyfried added, “It's not it's not really up to us, is it?” So, with the original main Mean Girls characters already on board to return, it's up to the Paramount+ movie's production to decide if and how to incorporate the actors into the project.
Why Paramount's Mean Girls Movie Musical Is Still Promising
Even though the original Mean Girls cast haven’t been confirmed for Paramount+’s Mean Girls musical movie, it still has plenty of elements that make it promising. Paramount+’s Mean Girls already has an impressive cast, including The Office’s Jenna Fischer. Tina Fey, who wrote and appeared in the 2004 Mean Girls movie, is again returning to write the musical reboot. Fey and Mean Girls actor Tim Meadows will also reportedly be returning to reprise their original roles. Given everything the Paramount+ Mean Girls has going for it, the reboot definitely has the potential to be good, although incorporating more of the original cast could truly make it great.