Mean Girls Musical Movie Now A High Priority After Finding Directors

Mean Girls: The Musical is now being considered a high-priority by Paramount, now that the project has officially found its directors. The film, which is currently in the early stages of production, will be an adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, Mean Girls, that was based on the 2004 teen comedy of the same name. The original movie, written by Tina Fey, has become a much-loved classic since its release almost two decades ago, as it tells the story of Cady Heron (played Lindsay Lohan) who moves to a new school and finds herself mixed up with the popular clique, “The Plastics” (played by Rachel McAdams, Amanda Seyfried, and Lacey Chabert), but everything begins to fall apart for Heron when she falls for the ex-boyfriend of Regina George, the leader of “The Plastics.”

Mean Girls: The Musical first opened off-Broadway in 2017, with Fey returning to write the book for the musical. Following its success in Washington D.C, the show officially moved over to Broadway in 2018, however, it became one of the many unfortunate theatre fatalities of the COVID-19 pandemic and did not reopen after its closing performance in March 2020. Mean Girls: The Musical had quickly become a fan-favorite within the Broadway community, with many fans calling for an official recording to be released, a demand that only grew more prevalent following the show’s official closure. Therefore, fans were delighted when it was announced that Paramount Players would be taking this request a step further and would be adapting the popular musical into a feature film, with Fey returning once again to write the script.

After a year and a half of very little news regarding the adaptation, audiences now have an official update on the production of Mean Girls: The Musical as Deadline reports that the film has officially found its directors. Husband and wife directing duo, Arturo Perez Jr. and Samantha Jayne, will helm the project, with sources stating that their pitch had “a deep love and respect for the original movie, but also brought their own approach.” These sources also stated that now that the pair have signed on to the project, Paramount Players are considering Mean Girls: The Musical a high-priority, which is likely to be welcomed news for many as the adaptation was first announced almost two years ago.

The film marks Perez Jr. and Jayne’s feature directorial debut, with the pair having previously collaborated on the Hulu series, Quarter Life Poetry. The duo will also be working alongside composer Jeff Richmond and lyricist Nell Benjamin, who created the soundtrack for the original Broadway musical. However, it has not been confirmed whether the film will be getting any new songs or whether the Broadway soundtrack will simply be adapted for the big screen. The film currently remains in the early stages of production with no castings having been announced as of yet, and details of what can be expected of the adaptation are sparse at this time.

It will certainly be interesting to see how the directing duo, alongside executives at Paramount, will approach this musical endeavor and whether it will take notes from the line-up of fellow Broadway shows that have also received the film treatment this year, including the likes of In The Heights, Dear Evan Hansen and West Side Story. This update in the film’s production will certainly be well-received by both fans of the original Mean Girls movie and Broadway show alike, and confirmation that the directors’ pitch stayed true to the heart of the original story will likely address what many may have been wondering. With executives looking to fast-track the production of the film, audiences can remain hopeful that more exciting details for Mean Girls: The Musical will be announced soon.

Source: Deadline