Tina Fey explains why original Mean Girls cast couldn't appear in new film

18 January 2024, 12:05

Watch the Mean Girls musical movie trailer

By Katie Louise Smith

"We'll never know [what their roles would have looked like]."

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Tina Fey has discussed the difficulties behind trying to get the original Mean Girls cast members to have cameos in the new version of the iconic film.

Original cast members Tina and Tim Meadows reprise their roles as Ms. Norbury and Principal Duvall in the musical remake, but all the other characters are played by brand new actors.

Back in February 2023, Amanda Seyfried revealed that all four original Plastics were interested in appearing in the film but unfortunately, it never worked out. (Amanda, Lindsay Lohan, and Lacey Chabert later reunited for a Walmart Black Friday commercial.)

Rachel McAdams also recently teased that she and Tina "dabbled with a few ideas" about who she could play, but said that "it was tough to make it all work in the end."

Here's what Tina herself has said about trying to cast the OGs in the new film....

Tina Fey explains why the original Mean Girls plastics couldn't appear in the new film. Picture: Arturo Holmes/Getty Images, Parramount

Based on the quotes Tina has given in interviews so far, it seems like there's two main reasons why the original Plastics, as well as the likes of Lizzy Caplan (Janis) and Daniel Franzese (Damian), didn't make a return.

The first reason is that Tina just couldn't really make it work with everyone having a surprise cameo or role. "Paramount was like, 'Can you get any of the original ladies? And I was like, 'I can't fit five people in,'" Tina told Entertainment Weekly.

The second is that they were all too busy to make it work with the production schedule. During a chat with The New York Times, Tina said: "We'll never know [what their roles would have looked like]. They're busy people, so it didn't come together, but we tried, and we all love each other."

In another interview with Entertainment Tonight, Tina also joked: "Those guys are like Oscar nominees, we can't afford them."

There was, however, one original member of the Plastics that she did manage to secure... [Spoilers ahead!]

Lindsay Lohan poses with Tina Fey at the Mean Girls premiere. Picture: Getty

Lindsay Lohan, the original Cady Heron herself, appears in the film as the host of the Mathletes competition towards the end of the film.

Speaking about securing Lindsay for the role, Tina told EW: "I felt like if I could only get one person as a surprise, the original movie is really Lindsay's movie. As great as they all are, she's the heart of that movie."

"And I thought, well, what could she do? I didn't think [she should] play a teacher. I was trying to think of something that you wouldn't expect. And just to have her do that late in the movie, it also feels like it comes, I hope, at a time where fans weren't expecting one more little surprise. It also lets her be smart, which Cady is."