Mean Girls the Musical’ Movie: Everything to Know About the Paramount Project, Tina Fey’s Involvement and More

“I’m very excited to bring Mean Girls back to the big screen,” Fey said . “It’s been incredibly gratifying to see how much the movie and the musical have meant to audiences. I’ve spent 16 years with these characters now. They are my Marvel Universe, and I love them dearly.”

Fey wrote the 2004 film Mean Girls, which starred Lindsay Lohan (Cady Heron), Rachel McAdams (Regina George), Amanda Seyfried (Karen Smith) and Lacey Chabert (Gretchen Wieners). The Saturday Night Live alum, for her part, played teacher Ms. Norbury in the comedy alongside longtime friend Amy Poehler as Mrs. George.

Jonathan Bennett (Aaron Samuels), Lizzy Caplan (Janice Ian) and Daniel Franzese (Damian) were also featured in the original film, which follows new girl Cady as she navigates the jungle that is high school after being home schooled for years. While she initially clicks with the popular crowd, The Plastics, she quickly learns that some friendships aren’t made to last.

In 2018, Fey brought the hit film to Broadway with the Mean Girls musical. Now, she is taking the musical production back to the movies with an all new film — and a few familiar faces.

Reneé Rapp will be playing queen B, Regina George, in the upcoming Paramount Pictures film after previously playing the role on Broadway.

“I was on the treadmill. I was at home and I was walking and I just finished a day of the College Girls filming and my agent called me,” the Sex Lives of College Girls actress learned she got the part. “My mom rushed into the house …  She was like, ‘Renee!’ ’cause she obviously knew because everybody in my family and on my team is in cahoots.”

Rapp explained that “Mean Girls was such a big part of my childhood” noting it had “a huge impact” on her and her generation. “It’s gonna be a very exciting, authentic take on what Mean Girls is and what Mean Girls means to us as kids,” she added.

Tina Fey’s Mean Girls: The Musical Is Being Turned Into a Movie

Just like the original film, the upcoming Mean Girls adaptation — to be made under Paramount Pictures — will be produced by Tina Fey and Lorne Michaels. Fey, who wrote the book for the Broadway show, will also write the script for the film, which will feature music by Jeff Richmond and lyrics by Nell Benjamin.

“I’m very excited to bring Mean Girls back to the big screen,” Fey said of the film, which recently celebrated its 15th anniversary. “It’s been incredibly gratifying to see how much the movie and the musical have meant to audiences. I’ve spent 16 years with these characters now. They are my Marvel Universe, and I love them dearly.”

The musical largely follows the same plotline as the 2004 film of the same name, but there’s no telling how closely the second movie adaptation will stick to the original script. As much as we all love Cady Heron’s wild journey from the African Sahara to the suburbs of Illinois and the way she scrapes her way to the top of Northshore High’s social hierarchy, we’re excited to see what totally grool changes Fey makes to the script (hopefully even more hilarious pranks à la foot cream to the face).

Original star Seyfried, meanwhile, hinted that she and the other Plastics would happily come back if Fey wanted them.

“All four of us are 100 percent into it,” the Mank actress “Maybe the mothers of our characters? That’s what I was thinking, but listen, I have not even seen the script.”

While the comedian didn’t confirm or deny Seyfried’s possible cameo, she did tease the “incredible cast” while appearing on the Late Night With Seth Meyers show in February 2023. “We have an amazing cast,” Fey said. “I’m super excited about the cast.”

The musical made its world premiere in October 2017 in Washington, D.C. The production hit Broadway in April 2018 and ran through March 2020. In January 2021, the show closed permanently but it continued to tour. Mean Girls national tour kicked off in Buffalo, New York, in September 2019. The U.S. schedule is ongoing.

Arturo Perez Jr. and Samantha Jayne will be directing the upcoming project. Fey, for her part, is credited as writing the 2004 screenplay, the current screenplay, the script and the stage playbook. Nell Benjamin, meanwhile, has signed on as the lyricist.