The movie trailer for the upcoming Mean Girls musical is here and it features the music of Filipino-American singer Olivia Rodrigo.
“Get Him Back!” from Rodrigo’s second studio album, Guts, can be heard throughout parts of the trailer. This comes after the singer recently performed a new original track “Can’t Catch Me Now” for the latest instalment of the Hunger Games movie franchise, The Ballad of Songbirds and Snakes.
Composer Jeff Richmond is working with lyricist Nell Benjamin for the music of Mean Girls. “We’re super involved with that. What we’re trying to do [with the movie] is take the score that sounds like a Broadway score — in a good way — and [give] the movie a fresher palette. To make it sound more like stuff you want to listen to on Spotify, as opposed to when you’re sitting eighth-row center at a Broadway theater or the Pantages,” Richmond told The Hollywood Reporter.
“It’s kind of making it a fresher, younger take on the whole thing. We’ve kind of reinvented the music for the movie, so it’s really fun,” Richmond added.
It is unclear, however, whether Rodrigo’s music used in the trailer will appear in the actual film.
Since its release, the trailer has received mixed reactions, with many excited for the upcoming film. On the other hand, it has also received criticism from media outlets and social media for not incorporating songs used in the film itself, considering it is a musical. The original Broadway cast recording of Mean Girls includes tracks like “Where Do You Belong,” “Meet The Plastics,” “Stupid With Love,” and “World Burn”.
The 2024 Mean Girls movie is based on the stage musical, which in turn is an adaptation of the 2004 film of the same name.
Reneé Rapp reprised her role as Regina George in the Broadway musical, while Tina Fey and Tim Meadows once again portrayed Ms. Norbury and Principal Duvall, respectively, 20 years later. Arturo Perez Jr. and Samantha Jayne directed the upcoming musical from Fey’s screenplay.
Mean Girls will be released in theaters on 12 January 2024. It narrates the chaos that follows from new student Cady Heron entering the popular high school girl clique “The Plastics” ruled by queen bee Regina George and her minions, Gretchen and Karen.