Major spoiler ahead for the new Mean Girls!
2004's Mean Girls is considered one of the best teen movies of all time, and has remained a quotable part of pop culture. It came to Broadway a few years ago with a new Tony-nominated musical, and now it's back in theaters with a movie version of that very same show. There's a new Mean Girls cast, although there were some notable cameos throughout its runtime. And the film's directors spoke with CinemaBlend about planning and keeping those secrets throughout filming and post-production.
While the trailers for Mean Girls revealed that original Gretchen actress Ashley Park had a role in the new movie, there was another big cameo. Because none other than Cady herself Lindsay Lohan appeared as the judge of the mathletes competition. As you can see in the video above, I had the privilege of speaking with directors Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. and about bringing that surprise together. Perez half-joked telling me:
It was very secretive. We went to a secret room.
Honestly, I wouldn't be surprised if there was a top-secret Lilo room. After all, getting Lohan to set, and filming, editing, and promoting Mean Girls without spoiling her appearance was no doubt stressful. But those efforts paid off, even if Lindsay Lohan didn't like one joke in the new movie.
The new musical Mean Girls won at the box office, and Lindsay Lohan's role ended up getting a big reaction in theaters. CinemaBlend's Mean Girls review praised the film as a whole, so the pair of directors have a ton of celebrate now that the new movie is finally in theaters. Later in our same conversation, Samantha Jayne spoke about the excitement she felt over Lindsay Lohan's cameo ahead of the film's release, offering:
It will be like Christmas. Finally. Actually, it'll be like the parents at Christmas. Being like 'Finally the children can open the gifts,' sort of feeling.
One can only imagine what it was a relief for Mean Girls to open in theater without footage of Lindsay Lohan's new role somehow leaking online. Critics' response for Mean Girls helped to keep that secret, as did the marketing and trailers. And now that the cat is finally out of the bag, directors Arturo Perez Jr. and Samantha Jayne can likely breathe easy.
As previously mentioned, reception for Mean Girls has been super positive, despite the very big shoes the new installment had to fill. Although there were some moviegoers who were surprised it was a musical, as the trailers were noticeably missing any trace of singing.
Mean Girls is in theaters now, and the original is streaming with a Paramount+ subscription. Be sure to check out the 2024 movie release dates to plan your next movie experience.
