Wait a Second — Is the New ‘Mean Girls’ Movie a Musical?

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Mean Girls fans, it's time to head back to North Shore High School.

The Mean Girls remake is now in theaters, and fans of the 2004 film are rushing to see a new generation of actors portray the story beloved by so many. Just like the original movie, the 2024 version comes from the mind of Tina Fey, and follows Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) as she enters high school after being homeschooled for most of her life. Along the way, she meets Regina George (Reneé Rapp), Gretchen Wieners (Bebe Wood) and Karen Shetty (Avantika), a trio of popular girls who make up the famous "Plastics" group that runs the school.

But as longtime lovers of the franchise know, this isn't the only time the original Mean Girls has been reimagined. The movie was also a hit Broadway musical. And if that's not enough, the 2024 version actually sees Reneé reprising the role she once performed onstage, making this movie a full-circle moment for her.

As for the new Mean Girls film, it is based on both the 2004 film and the Broadway musical. The overall premise comes from the original movie, with the addition of the songs from the theater version.

When speaking to Screen Rant about the new movie, Tina noted that while she wanted to keep the original Mean Girls spirit alive, she also wanted the remake to have the feeling fans experienced when they saw the story live on Broadway.

"I think the key goals for this version were for it to be fun, fresh and surprising," she explained. "Most people who will see this movie have seen the original. A fair chunk of them have seen the musical, but how can we delight and surprise them? What can we give them that they didn't expect while still bringing them these characters that they have affection for?"

Additionally, when Reneé spoke to People about the film in April 2023, she further confirmed that it will be a musical comedy.

"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," she said.

The musical ran on Broadway from 2018 until 2020. Currently, you can catch the U.S. National Tour, which has a ton of tour dates for 2024. The show will also be headed to London's West End starting in June.

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