Mean Girls: The Musical: The Movie is Happening

Stage plays and musicals get adapted into movies all the time. And quite a few movies have been turned into stage productions. What you don’t see very often (or maybe ever) is a movie become a Broadway musical, only for that musical to get turned back around into another movie. That’s what Paramount is doing with Mean Girls. Tina Fey’s movie-turned-musical is headed to the screen once again.

Mean Girls was released in theaters in 2004 and became quite a hit over the years. It was eventually turned into a musical on Broadway where it found even more success. Paramount Players is looking to capitalize on that success — and the recognizable IP — by developing a musical feature film. According to Deadline, Paramount is moving forward with the project, hiring husband-wife team Arturo Perez Jr. and Samantha Jayne to direct Mean Girls the Musical.

Fey will be writing the script for Mean Girls the Musical in addition to her role as producer. Lorne Michaels, who produced the original film and Broadway show, will produce as well. Jeff Richmond will be writing the music for the feature musical, with lyrics from Nell Benjamin. Broadway Video’s Erin David, Caroline Maroney, and Micah Frank will be overseeing the new project, along with Little Stranger’s Eric Gurian.

Perez and Jayne are first-time feature directors, but Deadline reports that Paramount Players gave them the job and made the project a priority. The new take on the film will pay homage to the original and keep the spirit of its predecessors, while also telling its own updated story.

The original Mean Girls film starred Lindsay Lohan as a new-in-town high school student who started hanging out with a clique of popular girls. As she fell for the leader’s ex-boyfriend, she attempted to sabotage the clique from the inside, but things quickly spiraled out of control. The film also starred Rachel McAdams, Jonathan Bennett, Lacy Chabert, Amanda Seyfried, Lizzy Caplan, Daniel Franzese, Tim Meadows, and Amy Pohler. 

Are you looking forward to another Mean Girls adaptation? How do you think the new film will blend the elements of the movie and the musical? Let us know in the comments!