The Mean Girls Musical Movie: Release Date, Cast, Trailer, And Other Things We Know About The Upcoming Adaptation

Renée Rapp as Regina George in Mean Girls Musical
(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

Get in losers, we’re getting a movie-musical adaptation of Mean Girls. 

The legendary hit comedy, Mean Girls, released almost twenty years ago in 2004, if you can believe it, and it changed an entire generation. From the stellar Mean Girls cast that featured some legendary stars, to the writing to everything else, it truly has become one of the best teen comedies out there and one that is quotable from beginning to end. So of course, it was adapted into a Broadway musical. 

The musical adaptation, the book for which was also written by Tina Fey, who wrote the original movie, was a Tony-Award nominated musical that has had a very successful run, and now, that movie musical is going to be getting an adaptation. But who is going to be starring in this adaptation? And is the spectacular Tina Fey returning to write it? Let’s get into what we know so far. 

What Is The Mean Girls Musical Release Date?

Angourie Rice in the Mean Girls musical.

(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

At the time of updating this in November 2023, the Mean Girls musical will release on January 12, 2024, according to Deadline. This piece of news also confirmed that the film was actually going to be in theaters instead of the initially announced plan to premiere on Paramount Plus. 

This is great news, and now, I can add this movie onto my 2024 movie schedule so I have something to look forward to in the new year.  

Angourie Rice, Reneé Rapp, Avantika, And Bebe Wood Will Play Cady And The Plastics

Renee Rapp in the Mean Girls musical.

(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

While nothing can ever quite beat the original Mean Girls cast, with stars such as Rachel McAdams, Lindsey Lohan, Amanda Seyfried and more, the cast for the Mean Girls movie musical is already looking to be pretty awesome. 

Amanda Seyfried And Lindsay Lohan Discuss The Possibility Of A Mean Girls Sequel

According to Deadline, which originally announced the movie back in December 2022,  Angourie Rice -- who you may recognize as Betty from the MCU Spider-Man movies -- will play Cady, and Reneé Rapp will play Regina. 

Already from this announcement, I’m feeling excited about this film with these choices. I’m already a big fan of both Rapp (who is a part of The Sex Lives of College Girls cast). Also announced from Deadline in February 2023 is that Avantika will play Karen and Bebe Wood will play Gretchen. 

Again, nothing can quite beat the original, but these four are great picks for these characters – and I can’t wait to see what they bring to the table. 

Auli’i Cravalho, Jaquel Spivey, And More Will Co-Star

Two of the stars of the Mean Girls musical.

(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

We also have plenty of other cast roles confirmed as well. From the initial Deadline announcement regarding Cady and Regina casting, we can also confirm that Auli’i Cravalho will play Janis, and Jaquel Spivey will play Damian. 

In the Deadline article from February 2023, Christopher Briney was confirmed to play Aaron.. Similarly from Deadline, also in late February 2023, it was confirmed both Tina Fey and Tim Meadows were set to reprise their roles from the original movie, Ms. Norbury and Principal Duval.

Reported by Deadline in late February 2023, Jenna Fischer, known mainly for her time on The Office cast, is also set to star in the film, playing Ms. Heron, Cady’s mom. 

Also joining onto the cast is Busy Phillips, who is going to portray Ms. George, Regina’s mom in Mean Girls, according to Deadline in early March 2023.

Something else that’s also fun that was confirmed is that Ashley Park, the original actress who portrayed Gretchen Wieners in the Broadway adaptation, will have a part in the upcoming film, according to Entertainment Tonight in early March 2023.  She’s since made a name for herself as being a part of the Emily In Paris cast, but it’s so exciting to see her come back to the role that she originated. 

In late March 2023, it was confirmed from Deadline that Mahi Alam and Connor Ratliff had joined the Mean Girls cast as Kevin G. and Mr. Rapp. 

And then, again in late March, it was confirmed by The Hollywood Reporter that Jon Hamm (most known for his starring role in the Mad Men cast) had signed on to the film to play Coach Carr. 

Check Out The Trailer For Mean Girls: The Musical

If you’re interested in checking out the trailer for the Mean Girls musical, be sure to check it out above. It features our first look at our new Plastics as well as Cady teaming up to try and take them down, as well as the star-studded cast. 

The Movie Is An Adaptation Of The Broadway Musical Of The Same Name

Three of the stars of the Mean Girls musical.

(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

Obviously as stated before, the Mean Girls musical is a film adaptation of the Broadway musical the same name. In turn, the Broadway musical is based on the 2004 film, Mean Girls. The 2004 film is based on the novel Queen Bees and Wannabes by Rosalind Wiseman. The story follows Cady Heron, the new girl in school who moves from South Africa to the United States, and quickly makes friends with Janice and Damian, known haters of the schools ‘mean girls,’ The Plastics. 

Together, the trio creates a plan in order to take down The Plastics from the inside, but soon, Cady finds herself turning into a mean girl as well when she starts to see how nice life can be at the top of the high school food chain – and how it can all quickly crumble down. 

Arturo Perez Jr. And Samantha Jayne Directed

The main stars of the Mean Girl musical.

(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

Reported by Variety, it was confirmed that Mean Girls would be co-directed by Arturo Perez and Samantha Jayne. The husband-wife duo is making their film directorial debut with this movie, so I’m eager to see where they take this movie and how much fun it’s going to be.

Tina Fey Wrote The Adaptation

Tina Fey in the Mean Girls musical.

(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

Another piece of news that we received from the initial announcement from Deadline is that Tina Fey herself, the person who wrote the screenplay for the 2004 movie, and the book for the Broadway adaptation, is also returning to write the adaptation of the musical for the big screen. 

This is big news for fans of the original movie, because hopefully it'll mean we’re going to get the same kind of quality in terms of comedy and hilarity that we did in the original Mean Girls. I for one can’t wait to see what happens with this, as Fey has done so much in her career since the first film came out. 

Filming Ended In April 2023

James Fischer in the Mean Girls musical.

(Image credit: Paramount Pictures)

Get excited friends, because filming has ended for the Mean Girls musical.

It was confirmed that filming had begun for the movie in March 2023. The confirmation was posted to the official Twitter page for the movie:

PhillyVoice confirmed at the end of March that the process of production would take place through April. Then, the Two River Times uploaded an article in May 2023 regarding the residents of Middletown, Monmouth County (where the movie was filmed) and confirmed that the movie had finished production on April 27, 2023. 

What are you the most excited for when it comes to the Mean Girls musical? All I know is that I am going to be stocking up on pink so I can rock out when I watch the movie on the big screen while singing my heart out. 

Alexandra Ramos
Content Producer

A self-proclaimed nerd and lover of Game of Thrones/A Song of Ice and Fire, Alexandra Ramos is a Content Producer at CinemaBlend. She first started off working in December 2020 as a Freelance Writer after graduating from the Pennsylvania State University with a degree in Journalism and a minor in English. She primarily works in features for movies, TV, and sometimes video games. (Please don't debate her on The Last of Us 2, it was amazing!) She is also the main person who runs both our daily newsletter, The CinemaBlend Daily, and our ReelBlend newsletter.