Who from the original ‘Mean Girls’ is returning to the musical film? What to know
Randi Richardson
The Plastics are back to their shenanigans in the new “Mean Girls” and many fans are wondering if some of the original cast members from the 2004 film will make a return.
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TODAY.com
The Plastics are back to their shenanigans in the new “Mean Girls” and many fans are wondering if some of the original cast members from the 2004 film will make a return.

Tina Fey wouldn't say.

I don't know," Fey, who co-wrote the new musical film and the original, told TODAY on Jan. 10 when asked about cameos in the new iteration, out Jan. 12.

"You have to come see," she said. "There are wonderful surprises throughout the movie, I'd say. But, yeah, you got to come on Friday."

Fey said the new "Mean Girls" is an ode to the 2018 Broadway musical.

"We had so much fun on the Broadway musical," she said. "We were running and audiences were loving it and then we shut down during the pandemic. I wanted more people to see what we had made. And then (came) this opportunity to take our favorite parts of the Broadway musical and then put them back into a cinematic form."

Read on to learn more about the original film's cast and what cameos to expect in the movie musical.

Who starred in the first ‘Mean Girls’

Rachel McAdams, Lacey Chabert and Amanda Seyfried played the original Plastics of Regina George, Gretchen Wieners and Karen Smith. Lindsay Lohan played outcast-turned-Plastic Cady Heron. Daniel Franzese portrayed Damian, Lizzy Caplan took on Janis Ian and Jonathan Bennett played heartthrob Aaron Samuels.

"Saturday Night Live" alumni and comedians Tim Meadows, Tina Fey, Amy Poehler and Ana Gasteyer all starred in the first film. Meadows played the school's principal and Fey played Ms. Norbury, one of the school's math teacher. Poehler played Regina's mom and Gasteyer played Cady's mother.

What we know about the new ‘Mean Girls’ cast and cameos

Fey and Meadows both appear in the new "Mean Girls." Fey said Meadows returning is one of the reasons why she did, too.

"Tim is there with me, which was a great comfort to me because it’s like well if I’m going to do it," Fey said, "Tim's there with me. Unfortunately, he's aging a little too well. I'm like, 'I don't want to stand next to you."

There's still no word, though, on other cameos. Lohan attended the premiere and she also reunited with Chabert and Seyfried for one of Walmart's 2023 Black Friday ads. McAdams, however, was noticeably absent from the ad and explained to Variety why she didn't want to make an appearance.

“I don’t know; I guess I wasn’t that excited about doing a commercial if I’m being totally honest. A movie sounded awesome, but I’ve never done commercials, and it just didn’t feel like my bag,” she told Variety.

So far, the confirmed cast members in the new "Mean Girls" musical are: Reneé Rapp, Angourie Rice, Jaquel Spivey and Auli’i Cravalho as Regina George, Cady, Damian and Janis, respectively. Rapp is reprising the role from her stint in the the Broadway musical.

Fey said the new "Mean Girls" has a modern spin and it's been "a gift" to revisit and retool the storylines.

"What a gift," she said. "Sometimes you write something and 20 years go by and you go 'Oh, I wish maybe we hadn't said that.' And what a gift to be able to open the hood and fix things up a little bit."