A month after Mean Girls Day, we have the first trailer for the upcoming musical. Paramount released the footage, which could be missed in its genre as there is a lack of music and few glimpses of dancing (seen below). A teaser was previously shown at the Taylor Swift theatrically released concert, but now we have a full, public look at what to expect from this new twist.
The upcoming film is based on the 2018 Broadway production that was an adaptation of the 2004 movie, which was also an adaptation. The footage establishes the cast of teachers and students in their different cliques. We get some glimpses of some dancing and potential musical numbers, but none of which are shown to really tell uninformed audiences that this is a musical.
Mean Girls Musical Gets a Not Very Music-Oriented Trailer
Fans of the original movie will see plenty of returning favorites with a new cast. The film stars Angourie Rice as Cady Heron, Auli’i Cravalho as Janis ‘Imi’ike, Reneé Rapp as Regina George, Jaquel Spivey as Damian Hubbard, Avantika as Karen Shetty, Bebe Wood as Gretchen Wieners, Christopher Briney as Aaron Samuels, Jenna Fischer as Ms. Heron, Busy Philipps as Mrs. George, Ashley Park as Madame Park, Tina Fey as Ms. Norbury, and Tim Meadows as Mr. Duvall.
Fey wrote the 2004 film, the Broadway show, and the upcoming musical. Jeff Richmond did the music, and the lyrics were written by Nell Benjamin. The trailer for the new Mean Girls trailer gives us a taste of the vision of the new directors, Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr.
Like the previous movie and stage show, no money has gone to the author who inspired the story. In an article from the New York Post from earlier this year, Rosalind Wiseman, who wrote the inspiration, Queen Bees and Wannabes, said that after the initial deal for the rights, she had not seen a dollar from the success of the IP. She was paid $400,000 at the time but was lied to by Paramount that the 2004 film made any money when it grossed $130 million. As it expanded with the Broadway production and upcoming film, she will also not see money from her 2002 deal.
The Mean Girls trailer is coming not long before the film releases on January 12, 2024.