The new 'Mean Girls' is a musical — and people are surprised

(NEXSTAR) — The latest incarnation of "Mean Girls," the now-iconic 2004 teen comedy, finally hits theaters next week, and based on its trailers, the film promises "a new twist" on the story. But so far, the film's marketing hasn't explicitly shown what that means.

On Wednesday, the film's final trailer was released and while it gives slightly more of a hint, there's still some obfuscation around the fact that "Mean Girls" (2024) is a musical. If that's shocking to you, you're not alone.

"What's the point of remaking 'Mean Girls'? .... This advert doesn't make it seem like it's being changed in any serious way," one user opined on X, formerly Twitter, in early November. He quickly learned the answer as more and more people responded with the news.

"OK, turns out there is an answer to this. It's a musical now — which for some reason the advert makes completely opaque?" he said in a follow-up. "I don't understand what went into this decision."

Others everywhere appear to be just as surprised.

"I've had four friends tell me they're going to see 'Mean Girls' next Friday night and none of them knew it was a musical," writer Trace Thurman posted on X, formerly known as Twitter, two days ago.

Despite the fact that it bears the same name as the 2004 film starring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams, this year's "Mean Girls" is actually not a remake of that movie. Instead, the new film is an adaptation of the 2018 Broadway musical based on the 2004 movie. The musical, which ran through 2020, also featured singer Reneé Rapp in the role of antagonist Regina George. Rapp reprises the role for the movie.

But unless you followed movie news or knew of the musical, you, like many, might not have even suspected the new movie was based on a Tony Award-nominated show. The film's trailers have only featured a semi-sung lyric from one of the songs (Rapp speak-sings the words "I am Regina George...") and its poster's only major hint at its musicality is a music note inside the "A" in "Mean."

As confusing as the marketing might be, it's actually quite common for studios to disguise movie musical adaptations. A few more recent examples — which have actually been slightly less cagey than the"Mean Girls" trailers — were the movie musicals "Wonka" and "The Color Purple," which minimally featured their music in trailers.

Despite the fact that in the past five years, "Frozen II," "Aladdin," "The Little Mermaid," "Sing 2," "Mamma Mia: Here We Go Again!" and "Encanto" have collectively grossed billions, studios seem hesitant to advertise a movie musical if they don't have to. That's also ignoring the fact that aside from financial success, films like "La La Land" and "Chicago" have been huge awards draws.

Trailer editor Jeff Gritton recently told The Ringer that "at some point, [studios] decided people won't see a musical." He pointed to recent big-budget musicals with poor box office showings, including "West Side Story," "Dear Evan Hansen" and "In the Heights."

While it's important to remember these films were released during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, the bottom line that several recent movie musicals tanked at the box office likely hasn't instilled confidence that the next film they green light will be the next "Frozen II."

But as Screen Crush writer Matt Singer wondered in November: "If studios don’t want to tell potential customers that a movie is a musical because they think audiences might not see it as a result… why are they making musicals in the first place?"

Many online have pointed out that the only thing non-musical fans will hate more than a musical is being fooled into seeing one.

All of this aside, could the tide be turning for movie musicals? "Wonka," which is still in theaters, has grossed $384 million worldwide so far, according to Box Office Mojo. "The Color Purple" has performed less favorably at the box office, though it has received some critical acclaim, including a Best Picture nomination at the 29th Critics' Choice Awards.

"Mean Girls" opens nationwide Jan. 12.