09 November 2023 , 14:59
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The first trailer for Mean Girls: The Musical movie has dropped ahead of its premiere in January, and it's already gaining a strong reaction from fans.
With a star-studded cast including Angourie Rice as Cady Heron and Renee Rapp reprising her Broadway role as Regina George, the film is set to add a string of musical numbers to Tina Fey's blockbuster screenplay and is set to be released in 2024.
Mean Girls follows the story of new student Cady Heron who is recruited into a popular group of girls known as The Plastics after moving to the US from Africa. Things take a turn for the worst when the 16-year-old sophomore she falls for Regina's ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels, portrayed by Christopher Briney. Emily in Paris's Ashley Park, who played Gretchen in the original Broadway production, is also set tot make a cameo.
Arturo Perez Jr. and Samantha Jayne direct the project, with a screenplay from Tina Fey, who also stars in the film. Jon Hamm, known for his role in Mad Men, appears as a high school coach.
Mean Girls: The Musical's first trailer has officially dropped (Paramount PIctures)The original Mean Girls film, which starred Lindsay Lohan, Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried, was a big hit when it was released back in 2004. Raking in just over $130 million at the box office and inspiring a TV sequel in 2011, the comedy has largely been regarded as one of the most iconic teen flicks of the 21st century.
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This isn't the first time it's been adapted, with a musical based on the film hit the stage in 2017 and ran on Broadway until 2020. Rachel McAdams, who isn't currently slated to appear in the new movie, has previously revealed she'd never pass up a chance to work with the film's writer, Tina Fey, again. "She's the greatest. So, we'll see how it all shakes out...I don't think she can do any wrong. She is amazing," the 44-year-old said.
Likely to incite serious déjà vu in Mean Girls fans, the trailer for the musical movie includes plenty of familiar scenes from the original film. The preview starts with the famous moment of Cady's first cafeteria visit, in which she first meets the Plastics and its leader, Regina George, after being befriended by social outsiders Janice and Damian.
The teenager then enters health class, where the first movie's iconic monologue about sex education and preventing pregnancy is delivered by Coach Carr. Clips of Cady eating lunch in the bathroom on her first day, her visit to Regina's mansion and introduction to the infamous 'Burn Book', and her first encounter with Aaron Samuels are also included.
The Halloween costume party in which Cady arrives as a zombie bride and the Christmas concert of the Plastics performing 'Jingle Bell Rock' follow, along with Regina meltdown over body image issues after Cady sabotages her. Ashley Park also makes an exciting appearance as a French teacher, in what appears to be a cheeky nod to her role as Mindy in Emily in Paris.
The trailer for the film has received mixed reviews, however, with some Mean Girls fans criticising its producers for failing to include enough clips of the show's musical content.
The trailer has divided Mean Girls fans (Paramount PIctures)"They’re really shooting themselves in the foot with this trailer. Why hide the fact that this is an adaption of the musical version, not a remake of the original movie?!", one person questioned, while another said, "Y'all completely dropped the ball on this being a musical!"
A number of online fans warned that the trailer, which mainly focuses on the plot line rather than the tunes, could confuse audiences into thinking the musical is just another reboot or a remake. "Idk who's behind the marketing but they're gonna upset a lot of people if they don't make it clearer that this is a musical version of the original and not a reboot or sequel," they said.
"Super disappointed this trailer glossed over the fact that it's a movie version of the musical!", another admitted. "Anyone not in the know seeing this would think it's a remake (unless your eagle eye could make out the fact that there are a couple of song/dance numbers shown here, even though the audio was dubbed over with the Olivia Rodrigo song)."
Not everybody was so unimpressed with the teaser, however. One person wrote, "Cool can't wait, love the preview," while another said, "This looks promising."