Reese Witherspoon says there will be no Legally Blonde 3 without Jennifer Coolidge

Jennifer Coolidge's involvement in Legally Blonde 3 is an open-and-shut case — at least for Reese Witherspoon.

The actress, who starred as glamorous lawyer Elle Woods in 2001's Legally Blonde and 2003's Legally Blonde 2, said a possible third film must have Jennifer Coolidge in its cast or it simply won't happen.

"There is no Legally Blonde 3 without Jennifer Coolidge," Witherspoon told Entertainment Tonight, adding that she's currently "beyond myself" with pride for her former costar.

Everett Collection Jennifer Coolidge and Reese Witherspoon in 'Legally Blonde'

"She deserves every one of those flowers she is receiving right now," Witherspoon continued. "And she's just one of those people who is so naturally gifted and funny, and that you can just tell people love her 'cause she gets up there and everybody's like, 'I love her.' But she's just done a lot of good work in our business for so long that it's really nice to see her getting this incredible moment."

Last October, Coolidge revealed that she was still eagerly waiting to hear from the film's writers, Mindy Kaling and Dan Goor, about her potential return as Elle's pal and manicurist Paulette Bonafonté in the long-awaited threequel.

"I know nothing. I mean, I don't know if they wanted to surprise me or something, 'cause I hear about it a lot," Coolidge told Entertainment Tonight at the time. "I heard that Mindy has this amazing version of our next round, but I haven't seen it. I don't have the call yet."

Kaling previously told Entertainment Tonight in July 2021 that Coolidge would "1,000 percent" star in Legally Blonde 3, which has been in the works since 2018. However, as she told Time last March, the movie itself has been delayed indefinitely while she and Goor continue to work on its script, which centers around an older version of Elle.

"We're not afraid of the character in this world, and we don't feel we have to apologize for her," Kaling said. "As a fan, I didn't want to watch her be canceled or become a Karen. That's what's been interesting and challenging — and why it's taking us such a long time to write."

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