The New Mean Girls Trailer Is Out! Here’s Why We Think It’s So Fetch
This article was written by The Zillennial Zine’s senior fall editorial intern Maggie Lardie. Find her on Instagram at @maggielardie. If you would like to share an article with The Zillennial, send us an email at thezillennialzine@gmail.com.
Taylor Swift: The Eras Tour premiered for the first time in theaters last week, and with it, fans were treated to a sneak peak of yet another upcoming musical film! Mean Girls will be showing at a theater near you starting January 12 – only it’s not what you think. This is a brand new movie musical, based on the Broadway show of the same name (which was of course based on the iconic 2004 film). Although the teaser trailer was short, it was packed full of cast members, clips and callbacks to both the movie and musical alike. There are so many iconic props, lines and characters from the film, most of whom had a big effect on our lives as Zillennials. An argument can be made that Mean Girls is one of the most influential teen films of all time, so we’re expecting the musical version to be nothing short of greatness! If you’re looking to see the new movie in theaters or even just curious about what it will bring to the table, get in loser. We’re going to look at everything the new Mean Girls movie has to offer.
The Cast
What’s a great movie without a great cast? Both the original movie and musical had hilarious and witty cast members who perfectly portrayed and brought life to their respective characters. The 2024 Mean Girls boasts an incredibly talented cast, especially since members from both the movie and musical have agreed to reprise their roles in the remake! None of it would be possible without Tina Fey, who not only wrote the 2004 film, but starred as Ms. Norbury in it. She also wrote the musical, so it’s only fitting that she has some role in the remake as well! Both she and actor Tim Meadows will be reprising their roles as Ms. Norbury and Principal Duvall, respectively.
In addition to the movie veterans, Broadway stars Reneé Rapp and Ashley Park will have a role in the upcoming film! Rapp will be reprising her role as Regina George, which she was given after producers for the musical saw her win an award for high school musical theater. She’s an amazing actress, but when it comes to her vocals, she’s an absolute powerhouse – how else are you cast on Broadway at 19 years old? Actress Ashley Park will not be reprising the role of Gretchen Weiners that she originated on Broadway, but a clip of her in the trailer confirms that she will at least have a cameo in the upcoming film.
Although they’ve never been part of a Mean Girls production before, we’re excited that they’ll be joining this time around! The stars of the film include Angourie Rice as Cady Heron, Bebe Wood as Gretchen Weiners, Avantika Vandanapu as Karen Smith, Auli’i Cravalho as Janis Ian and Christopher Briney as Aaron Samuels.
The Plot
As far as the storyline goes, we can’t really be sure what to expect. If the plot stays loyal to that of the musical, then we can expect the same changes that were made during the screen to stage transition to be present for the 2024 remake. The Broadway show provided a space for previously underdeveloped characters the opportunity to be seen. Some examples of characters that were given more of the spotlight in the Broadway show are:
- Janis Ian and her fight against Regina and the rest of the plastics’ tyranny
- Karen Smith and her occasional feminist insights in addition to her usual ditzy dialogue
- Gretchen Weiners and her struggle with being vulnerable in the face of the stone-cold persona of Regina George
Even if the 2024 film decides to make more changes to this iconic story, we’re sure that it will be grool. Sorry… I meant to write cool but I started to type great.
What do you most look forward to seeing in the new Mean Girls movie? Let us know in the comments!