Original Mean Girls cast and who plays new characters now
It's been 20 years since iconic flick Mean Girls hit the cinemas. And today the long-awaited musical adaptation is finally released.
The new film isn't an exact remake of the 2004 classic, but rather an adaptation of the Mean Girls Broadway show.
Tina Fey wrote and produced the new movie, and while most of the cast has been replaced there will be a few familiar faces in the new version.
So who are the new Regina, Gretchen, Cady and Karen? Read on to find out...
For a daily dose of 9Honey, subscribe to our newsletter here.
Rachael McAdams as Regina George in 2004
Rachael McAdams had a huge 2004, with the release of The Notebook and her role as the original mean girl. Regina George.
"I don't think she can do any wrong," McAdams said to Entertainment Tonight of the actress taking on the role in the 2024 version.
"She is amazing. She's already got me beat with that voice. I'm just excited to see her incarnation.
"It's such a great character. It's so much fun to play."
Renee Rapp as Regina George in 2024
Renee Rapp is taking on the role in 2024, after having starred as Regina George on Broadway since 2019.
When asked by Entertainment Tonight of the praise that McAdams had for her, Rapp responded, "She's so cool. She's so sick. I saw this and I was so geeked. I love her. I'm obsessed with her."
Lindsay Lohan as Cady Heron in 2004
Noughties superstar, Lindsay Lohan took on the pivotal role of Cady Heron in the original film.
She stepped out at the 2024 film's premiere in New York for pictures with the Aussie actress putting her own spin on the character.
Angourie Rice as Cady Heron in 2024
But Angourie Rice, who plays Cady in the new film, says she isn't worried about following in the footsteps of Lohan.
She explained to 9Honey that she's confident the film will find its own space.
"I just really trusted that the character would be different because I knew that I would bring something different to it," she said.
"Whatever I did, you can get two actors to read the same scene and they'll do it completely differently just because they're different people."
Johnathan Bennet as Aaron Samuels in 2004
Prior to Mean Girls, Johnathan Bennet worked on Law & Order: Special Victims Unit, Smallville and Veronica Mars.
Playing the love interest of Lohan's character Aaron Samuels, his role in 2004's Mean Girls was career defining.
In an interview with Salon, Bennet revealed the profound impact the film had on his life.
"I owe my entire life, my entire career [to the film]. Everything about who I am today I owe to Tina Fey, Lorne Michaels and Lindsay Lohan," he said.
He also told People that he had some advice for Christopher Briney who is the new Aaron Samuels.
"He must nail the word 'grool'."
Chris Briney as Aaron Samuels in 2024
The Summer I Turned Pretty star Chris Briney will play Cady's love interest in the new film, although he originally turned down the role.
Only his fourth movie, Briney will be one of the only characters in the remake to not sing, telling Entertainment Weekly he was relieved.
"I was so fine with it," Briney said of not singing. "I don't want to do that to people. And I don't know, I think if I worked on it, if someone gave me some coaching, I'd be fine.
"But it's also just so different. The level that the people in this movie are singing at isn't something you can just pick up. They were born to do that and I wasn't born to do that."
Amanda Seyfried as Karen Smith in 2004
Seyfried had worked on television prior to her role as the ditzy plastic Karen Smith. But Mean Girls was her first film.
She told Vanity Fair, that she credits similarities between herself and Karen Smith as the reason she landed the role.
"It was a much easier transition into playing Karen from where I was at in my life at that point," Seyfried said.
"I was only 17, so high school was like, right there."
Avantika Vandanapu as Karen Shetty in 2024
Avantika Vandanapu, 18, has already appeared in 12 films and you may recognise her from her role in Rebel Wilson's Senior Year.
She told ScreenRant that she had prepared for the role, taking joy in the process.
"I pushed myself, which felt really amazing. But also dancing with my friends and performing with Bebe and dancing as a whole, it felt like home and it felt really amazing," she explained.
"So it was mixed. The whole thing was really, really cool to experience."
Lacey Chabert as Gretchen Weiners in 2004
Lacey Chabert had been acting since 1998, as the voice of Eliza Thornberry on The Wild Thornberry's.
In 2019, she told US Weekly that she reflects on Mean Girls fondly.
"When you're a part of a movie, you hope that people are going to enjoy it and it's going to resonate with them," the Hallmark star said.
"And the fact that people are still talking about it in the way they are 15 years later is awesome."
