“Mean Girls” Trailer Reveals the Reneé Rapp-led Movie Musical

Mean Girls is back, and it’s got a song to sing. Paramount’s movie musical, which was first glimpsed by audiences who went and saw Taylor Swift’s concert film in the theater, has revealed its first trailer online. This musical version is adapted from the 2018 Broadway play, itself an adaptation of the hit 2004 film (the original film, the Broadway musical, and this cinematic adaptation of the musical were all written by Tina Fey) and boasts a sensational cast.

If you haven’t yet caught any of the previous iterations, consider this your first day of school. Mean Girls is centered on new student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice), who finds herself accepted into the most popular clique in school, the Plastics, led by their undisputed queen, Regina George (the considerably talented Reneé Rapp). The Plastics are a rough bunch, and Cady will find soon enough that Regina’s an imperious queen whose mean side is considerable. Rice and Rapp will be singing their way into roles first made famous by Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams.

The cast includes Auli’i Cravalho as Janis ‘Imi’ike, Jaquel Spivey as Damian Hubbard, Avantika as Karen Shetty, Bebe Wood as Gretchen Wieners, Christopher Briney as Aaron Samuels, Jenna Fischer as Ms. Heron, Busy Philipps as Mrs. George, Ashley Park as Madame Park, Tina Fey as Ms. Norbury, Tim Meadows as Mr. Duvall.

The trailer doesn’t reveal the musical chops of the cast, but there will be more trailers to come that will likely lean into the songs. The film comes from the directing duo of Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr., with music by Jeff Richmond and lyrics from Nell Benjamin.

Check out the trailer below. Mean Girls arrives in theaters on January 12:

Here’s the official synopsis from Paramount:

From the comedic mind of Tina Fey comes a new twist on the modern classic, MEAN GIRLS. New student Cady Heron (Angourie Rice) is welcomed into the top of the social food chain by the elite group of popular girls called “The Plastics,” ruled by the conniving queen bee Regina George (Reneé Rapp) and her minions Gretchen (Bebe Wood) and Karen (Avantika). However, when Cady makes the major misstep of falling for Regina’s ex-boyfriend Aaron Samuels (Christopher Briney), she finds herself prey in Regina’s crosshairs. As Cady sets to take down the group’s apex predator with the help of her outcast friends Janis (Auli’i Cravalho) and Damian (Jaquel Spivey), she must learn how to stay true to herself while navigating the most cutthroat jungle of all: high school.    

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Martin Scorsese on Finding Truth in Tragedy in “Killers of the Flower Moon”

Featured image: Bebe Wood plays Gretchen, Renee Rapp plays Regina and Avantika plays Karen in Mean Girls from Paramount Pictures. Photo: Jojo Whilden/Paramount © 2023 Paramount Pictures.

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The Credits is an online magazine that tells the story behind the story to celebrate our large and diverse creative community. Focusing on profiles of below-the-line filmmakers, The Credits celebrates the often uncelebrated individuals who are indispensable to the films and TV shows we love.