As an alternative to a string of reboots, a new trend is emerging that sees famous movies turned into stage musicals, which are then adapted back into movies. The latest to get this treatment is surprisinglyMean Girls, the 2004 Lindsay Lohan movie which was adapted into a musical on Broadway. The concept is not new, having been done decades ago with the likes ofThe Little Shop of HorrorsandHairspray, but in recent years a surge in movie to stage musical adaptations, such asBack To The FutureandMatilda, means that there could well be a lot of these coming down the line in future alongside the likes ofWest Side Story, Everybody’s Talking About Jamieand the upcomingWicked.
Mean Girls was written by Tina Fey and was adapted into theMean Girls musicalby the comedian in 2017. The stage show made its Broadway debut the following year and played its final performance in March 2020 thanks to the forced shutdown by the Covid pandemic. While a number of productions have recently announced their stage returns, in January this year it was confirmed thatMean Girlswould not be one of them and would be permanently closed after 833 performances. Despite that, it seems that musical has managed to gain enough interest to allow Fey the change to now re-adapt the property back into movie form.
According to a report by Deadline, Paramount have green lit the project, which will be directed by husband and wife duo Arturo Perez Jr and Samantha Jayne, and scripted byTina Fey, who will also be on board to produce. The original movie’s producer Lorne Michaels, who also produced the stage show, will be returning in the role this time around, while new music for the movie will be provided by Jeff Richmond, with lyrics by Neil Benjamin. This will be the first project to be directed by Perez and Jayne, but seems to have been made one of the Paramount’s priority projects in a busy upcoming slate, which includes thePet Semataryprequel andOn The Come Up, both of which are helmed by directorial newcomers Lindsay Beer and Sanaa Lathan respectively.
The originalMean Girlsmovie made a star of Lindsay Lohan, who appeared as a high school student who is new in town and joins thepopular girls clique. After falling for the clique leader’s former boyfriend, she decides to take down the group from the inside, but of course things end up getting a little out of control. The movie also stars Rachel McAdams, Jonathan Bennett, Amanda Seyfried and Amy Pohler. The film was a huge hit in cinemas, pulling in over millions from its meager $17 million budget, and since went on to become a cult classic and put out a made for TV sequel in 2011.
There is no word yet onwho may star in the movie musical, but with casting yet to happen, it is likely going to be a couple of years before we see the finished product arrive on the big screen.Deadlinedropped this story first.
