Everything we know about the new 'Mean Girls' movie

• The trailer for the 2024 "Mean Girls" remake was released in November.
• Some of the cast members from the 2004 film will reprise their roles.
• Here's everything you need to know about the new "Mean Girls" musical adaptation. 

October 3 has come and gone, but we don't have to wait a whole year for another reason to celebrate "Mean Girls."

Paramount released the trailer for the upcoming film on Wednesday. Here's everything we know about the return of Cady Heron and the Plastics.

When will the new 'Mean Girls' movie be released?

"Mean Girls" the movie musical will be released in theaters on January 12, 2024. The film was originally slated to be released on Paramount+ before moving to a theatrical release, according to Deadline.

Who's in the cast of the new 'Mean Girls' film?

The main cast of "Mean Girls" was first announced in December 2022.

The role of Cady Heron (originated by Lindsay Lohan in the first movie) will be played by "Mare of Eastown" star Angourie Rice. Meanwhile, her frenemy and head of The Plastics clique Regina George will be played by "The Sex Lives of College Girls" star Reneé Rapp. Rapp also played Regina in the stage version of "Mean Girls," while Rachel McAdams originated the role of Regina in the 2004 film.

Auli'i Cravalho, the voice of the title character in Disney's 2016 film "Moana," will play the role of Janis Ian. Lizzy Caplan originated this role.

Newcomer Jaquel Spivey will play Cady's friend Damien Hubbard (originally played by Daniel Franzese in the 2004 film) in the movie musical.

In February 2023, Deadline announced additional cast members.

"The Summer I Turned Pretty" star Christopher Briney will play Cady's love interest, Aaron Samuels. Jonathan Bennett originated the role in the 2004 film.

Avantika, who previously starred in the Netflix film "Senior Year," will play the ditzy member of the Plastics clique, Karen. The role was originated by Amanda Seyfried.

The final member of the Plastics clique, Gretchen Wieners, will be played by "Love, Victor" star Bebe Wood. Lacey Chabert originated the role.

"The Office" star Jenna Fischer will play Cady's mom, a role originated by Ana Gasteyer in the original film. "Dawson's Creek" and "Girls5Eva" star Busy Philipps will play Regina George's mother, Mrs. George, who was played by Amy Poehler previously.

Will original cast members appear in the 'Mean Girls' movie?

Tina Fey, who wrote and starred in the original 2004 film, announced in February 2023 that both she and Tim Meadows would reprise their roles as math teacher Ms. Norbury and the North Shore High principal, Mr. Duvall, respectively. Press stills released by Paramount show the two as their iconic characters in the new film.

Any reports that Lohan or the original cast members who played The Plastics clique — McAdams, Seyfried, and Chabert — would reprise their roles are speculative as of this writing.

However, the actors clearly aren't opposed to returning to Girl World. Lohan, Chabert, and Seyfried filmed a Walmart+ commercial, released on November 1, that allowed them to reprise their roles as Cady, Gretchen, and Karen respectively.

In the commercial, Gretchen is a mom, Cady is the school guidance counselor, and Karen is a meteorologist.

Lohan shared it on social media, writing "Get in, besties. We're going shopping."

McAdams didn't return as Regina George, but Franzese reprised his role as Damien and Missy Elliot also made a cameo.

On a hopeful note, Seyfried told Entertainment Tonight in February that she, Lohan, Chabert, and McAdams were "a hundred percent" open to being part of the new "Mean Girls" movie if they were asked.

At the time, she speculated that she and her former co-stars could play their characters' mothers in fun cameos, but said she hadn't seen the script yet.

Unless all of the new Plastics have more than one mom, this isn't likely to happen given the announced cast. But at least everyone appears open to a big-screen reunion.

Is the plot of 'Mean Girls' staying the same?

Fey, who wrote the 2004 "Mean Girls" script and the book for the 2017 Broadway show, also wrote the 2024 movie musical. So, the essence of the story is likely to remain the same. This is supported by the fact that both the 2004 and 2024 films have the same log line: "Cady Heron is a hit with the Plastics, an A-list girl clique at her new school when she makes the mistake of falling for Aaron Samuels, the ex-boyfriend of alpha Plastic Regina George."

Of course, the musical has a lot more singing and dancing in it than the movie, which only had The Plastics' famous "Jingle Bell Rock" number.

Mark Waters, who directed Lohan in both 2003's "Freaky Friday" and the original "Mean Girls," will not be directing the movie musical. Married filmmakers Arturo Perez Jr. and Samantha Jayne are directing the new movie.

Some fans seem a little skeptical about the 'Mean Girls' remake — or at least confused about the trailer's lack of musical numbers

Although the 2024 "Mean Girls" film is a musical, that's not exactly made clear in the trailer, aside from a few seconds of dancing.

So, the movie is already receiving criticism from fans on social media, who are confused by the lack of songs.

"Why conceal that it's a musical? Is there anyone who wants to see a Mean Girls remake but who also hates musicals, is that a demographic? Also didn't we just have sort of a popular movie with a lot of pink and a song in it?" one user wrote on X, formally Twitter.

Another wrote that the musical aspect of the film was hidden because there was "absolutely nothing memorable" about the songs in "Mean Girls: The Musical" on Broadway. The tweet describes the project as "basically a millennial nostalgic cash grab of a movie."

But some people on X liked the musical and defended it and the new film. "You can tell that a lot of y'all were completely unaware that the Mean Girls Broadway musical already existed and Reneé Rapp already plays Regina George in it," one user wrote, adding in their thread that people reacted the same way about the trailer for the upcoming film version of the upcoming Tony Award-winning musical "The Color Purple."

One user was skeptical but hopeful, writing, "This could be real bad but hopefully in a campy way?? I know the musical and am not a huge fan of the songs nor staged story structure, but maybe it will surprise me."

Watch the 'Mean Girls' trailer here