The Trailer for the New 'Mean Girls' Movie Is Finally Here & People Don't Get It
Mean Girls became an instant classic as soon as it hit theaters in 2004, immediately becoming a defining piece of millennial pop culture. Recently, Walmart tapped the stars of the film to promote its 2023 Black Friday deals in a movie-inspired series of commercials, and a new incarnation of the story is getting ready to debut. Mean Girls was turned into a Broadway musical in 2018, and now, that musical is getting the big screen treatment — and the first trailer is here!
There's just one problem, though: It doesn't involve any of the music from the movie …
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The trailer warns, 'This isn't your mother's "Mean Girls."'
Despite the pop culture references throughout the movie, the experience of being a teenage girl is timeless, and that relatable theme still rings through in the updated musical.
While the original was geared toward millennial teens, this movie musical is all about Gen Z — but not without taking nostalgic fans who love the original along for the ride.
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Don't worry, the grown-ups will still enjoy it.
Nothing major about the story seems to have changed — at least, not according to the new trailer. Here, we get to see glimpses of the "Jingle Bell Rock" performance (albeit with new choreography), the giant girl fight, Regina’s Halloween party, and the infamous Burn Book.
There are fun updates to make the story more current, most noticeably the use of social media, including TikTok. Reneé Rapp steals the show as Regina George, and Auliʻi Cravalho and Jaquel Spivey are taking on the roles of Janis and Damian.
"We're concerned you're either doing drugs or having a toilet baby," Damian says to Cady in one clip where he catches her eating lunch alone in the bathroom.
The cast is new, but there are some familiar faces returning to the movie.
Angourie Rice stars as Cady Heron, the role most famously played by Lindsay Lohan, but Tina Fey and Tim Meadows reprise their roles as Ms. Norbury and Principal Duvall from the original. Jenna Fischer and Busy Phillips appear as Mrs. Heron and Mrs. George, while Jon Hamm plays Coach Carr. Ashley Park, who played the role of Gretchen in the Broadway musical, stars as the French teacher. Talk about a star-studded cast!
There was only one thing missing from the trailer: music.
Surprisingly, the one thing the film’s trailer was missing were any of the musical numbers. Instead, the Olivia Rodrigo song, "Get Him Back!" played over a few select scenes from the movie.
That doesn't mean that the songs from the Broadway soundtrack don't play a big role in the story, though. "This is a very specific version of the musical that has a really specific place in a niche, culty theater way, that I think expands it to maybe people who aren't super into theater," Reneé told People earlier this year.
Tina Fey penned the script, and she is one of the movie's main producers.
During an appearance on Late Night with Seth Meyers, Tina Fey gave praise for the film’s "amazing cast" and said that the film has a "very cool directing team" as well as their choreographer.
Fans are getting excited about the film based on this first trailer.
"I'm so excited!! Thanks for giving the fans another version of Mean Girls!" read a comment on YouTube.
"SCREAMING CRYING THROWING UP I AM UNWELL," another excited commenter added.
Mean Girls hits theaters on January 12.
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