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A film adaptation of the Mean Girls stage musical is finally coming out next year, and fans are all noticing the same thing about the project’s newly-released trailer.
The classic teen movie starring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams came out nearly 20 years ago, with a stage musical based on it running on Broadway for a number of years.
Now, the musical is heading back to where it all started – the big screen, with the first trailer being released on Wednesday.
The two-minute clip shows Spider-ManactorAngourie Rice in the lead role of Cady, while Reneé Rapp shows up as Regina George, a character she previously portrayed on the Broadway stage.
Crucially, the new Mean Girls is not a straight remake – but viewers would be forgiven for misunderstanding that, because the teaser is missing one key thing: actual music from the new film.
“What is the point of making a film based on a musical based on a film and then mostly hiding the fact that it’s a musical so it just looks like a particularly pointless remake that also inexplicably has some of the original cast?” one social media user asked.
Another suggested: “It’s literally Mean Girls The Musical and the trailer is STrrrrAINING to hide the fact that it’s a musical.”
Literally what is the point of making a film based on a musical based on a film and then mostly hiding the fact that it's a musical so it just looks like a particularly pointless remake that also inexplicably has some of the original cast? https://t.co/YZR1Qpm42y
— Rob @robwillb.bsky.social (@robwillb) November 8, 2023
Hilarious move to hide the songs from the musical in the trailer for the musical https://t.co/YD54T6pymI
— Jackson McHenry (@McHenryJD) November 8, 2023
It’s literally Mean Girls The Musical and the trailer is STrrrrAINING to hide the fact that it’s a musical https://t.co/MonwzR0fns
— Brent Black (@brentalfloss) November 9, 2023
PARAMOUNT PICTURES: Here's the trailer for our adaptation of the Mean Girls Broadway musical!
ME: I imagine you will focus on some of the songs.
PARAMOUNT PICTURES: No, we are hiding the musical aspect entirely and making it simply look like a bad remake of the original movie. https://t.co/5dwljG83e7
— Mike Beauvais (@MikeBeauvais) November 8, 2023
WAIT WHERE ARE THE SONGS. This doesn’t look like a musical and the public should know it’s a musical hahaha that’s the fun part. Hoping they release one song soon hahaha like give us Apex Predator or Revenge Party!pic.twitter.com/83uMOcJ144
— yeojachingu forever 🌻 (@iskompetent) November 8, 2023
they lowkey should make it more clear this is a musical before they start getting mean girls 2 allegations that they can’t beat https://t.co/o0e6URWgwt
— myo 🧸 (@myonnaslibrary) November 8, 2023
i feel like there’s going to be a large group of people who don’t realize this is a musical version of mean girls and get reaaaal pissed off in the theater LMAO 😭 https://t.co/NdZYzLaI0T
— bre 🐝 (@aantlerqueen) November 8, 2023
wait wait hold on….you release a trailer for the film of the stage adaptation of Mean Girls but *reads notes* use non musical songs as the music and don’t include singing clips of the songs
— Erin🖤🕯️🦇🌹💜 (@stratmcfly) November 8, 2023
crying at the new mean girls trailer neglecting to mention that its a musical
— becca misses kahtine ✨ (@sixtralia) November 8, 2023
The fact that the trailer for the movie of MEAN GIRLS: THE MUSICAL doesn't feature any songs from said musical — or any indication that they're really singing at all — is just 🥴 https://t.co/3GdQ8Rbd1o
— Dave Quinn (@NineDaves) November 8, 2023
the songless mean girls and wonka trailers – are studios worried if you tell people it's a musical they won't go
— hannah strong (@thethirdhan) November 8, 2023
"Lemon, by now you've seen the Mean Girls musical trailer."
"Musical? They didn't sing once."
"No one actually likes musicals, it's called Wonkaing. You advertise all the non-musical parts of the musical."
"Wonka is a musical?"
"Don't let that get out, we can't have a panic." pic.twitter.com/8R30iwlt9e— Ben Crew (@BenjaminCrew1) November 8, 2023
The trailer bills the film as a “new twist from Tina Fey” soundtracked to Olivia Rodrigo’s Get Him Back, but there’s not a single snippet of any musical numbers, besides some blink-and-you-miss-it clips of dance breaks.
It also includes recreations of some iconic Mean Girls moments, including the return of the Burn Book, Cady’s zombie bride Halloween faux pas, the outrageous Jingle Bell Rock dance and the immortalised “get in loser” line.
There is one bit of teaser text signalling that this Mean Girls is in fact different from the original: “This isn’t your mother’s Mean Girls.” Ouch.
The OG stars of Mean GirlsBebe Wood and Avantika Vandanapu complete the trio of Plastics, while Auliʻi Cravalho (AKA Disney’s Moana) portrays Janis opposite Jaquel Spivey’s Damian.
Other cast members include The Summer I Turned Pretty star Christopher Briney, Emily In Paris’ Ashley Park, The Office actor Jenna Fischer and Mad Men’s Jon Hamm.
The Mean Girls musical will also finally be coming to the West End in 2024, six years after it first debuted on Broadway.
And for fans who are loyal to the 2004 classic, the original cast recently reunited in a high-production Walmart advert.
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