Works inspired by Mean Girls
In early 2014, Warner Bros. Pictures and New Line Cinema announced a planned release date of May 8, 2015, for a film adapted from another book penned by Rosalind Wiseman. The film was titled Mean Moms, despite not being announced as a spin-off of Mean Girls. Beth McCarthy-Miller was set to direct while Jennifer Aniston was set to star.[91] However, in May 2014, New Line Cinema pulled the film from its proposed release date of May 2015.[92]
Jonathan Bennett, who portrayed Aaron Samuels, released a cookbook inspired by the movie in 2018 called "The Burn Cookbook: Real Recipes to Feed Your Inner Plastic."[93] The following year, he teamed up with Nocking Point Wines to release a limited rosé wine edition inspired by the film.[94] Ariana Grande parodied the film in the music video for her 2018 song "Thank U, Next". The actors Jonathan Bennett and Stefanie Drummond, who were originally part of the film's cast, appeared in the video. A clip of Cady Heron from the movie was featured in a 2020 Discover Card commercial which aired during the Super Bowl LIV.[95] K-pop singer Sunmi named her song "You Can't Sit with Us" after a quote from the movie.
A Mean Girls-themed pop-up restaurant in Santa Monica called "Fetch" was announced in 2020 as well.[96] Primark launched a loungewear range inspired by the film in October 2019.[97] On October 3, 2020, the Young Veterans Brewing Company released a Mean Girls-themed beer called "Army Pants & Flip Flops".[98] Several Mean Girls-themed events, merchandising products and screenings have been often organized and produced in homage to the film.[99][100][101][102][103]
In August 2020, Screen Junkies released a Honest Trailers episode on the film calling it "the best thing to come out of that era," with Screen Rant's Daniel Gillespie saying: "Mean Girls remains entertaining, funny, and, most importantly, accurate. [...] That relevance almost two decades later proves that Mean Girls is deserving of its classic status,"[104] and Slashfilm's Ethan Anderton writing that the "generation-defining high school movie" not only captures the teenage culture of the early 2000s perfectly, "but it's also hilariously clever for being adapted from a non-fiction parenting advice book [...] Mean Girls is great because it captures that cruel teen vibe perfectly, and it tries to deliver a nice wholesome message to fight it, which kids will laugh at, agree with, and then never do anything about."[105] In September 2020, the Pillsbury Company released a limited edition of Toaster Strudel featuring pink icing and Mean Girls packaging to pay homage to its movie-claimed inventor's daughter, Gretchen Wieners.[106] In October 2023, Nestlé's Coffee Mate announced that a limited-edition pink frosting flavored creamer would be available from January 2024 to celebrate the 20th anniversary of the film.[107]
In November 2023, Walmart unveiled its annual holiday campaign featuring much of the film's original cast including Lohan, Seyfried, Chabert, Franzese, and Surendra, reprising their roles as adults and recreating the film's scenes with modern twists.[108][109]
Adaptations
Video games
A game for PC was released in 2009 featuring characters specifically created for the game.[110]
In 2010, a Mean Girls video game developed by Crush Digital Media and planned to be published by 505 Games for the Nintendo DS handheld game console was announced, but was canceled before release.[111][112] The DS game was nearly completed before cancellation and was found in 2021 by YouTuber Ray Mona (also known as Raven Simone),[113] who got a file for the game in her email by an anonymous person.[114] A full playthrough was uploaded to her channel on July 15, 2021.[115]
In 2015, Episode launched an interactive animated web story titled Mean Girls: Senior Year. It picks up after the events of the film with the player taking the role of a new student who enters North Shore High School during senior year.[116][117] It was followed by two others stories, Mean Girls: Sorority Rush and Mean Girls: Spring Break.[118]
Musical
On January 28, 2013, Tina Fey confirmed that a stage musical adaptation of Mean Girls was in the works. Fey wrote the book of the show, while her husband, Jeff Richmond, composed the music with lyrics written by Nell Benjamin.[119] Directed by Casey Nicholaw, the original production of the musical premiered at the National Theatre in Washington, D.C., on October 31, 2017 for a pre-Broadway tryouts.[120] The show later transferred to Broadway at the August Wilson Theatre, with previews beginning on March 12, 2018, and official opening on April 8, 2018.[121]
Its original stars included Erika Henningsen as Cady Heron, Taylor Louderman as Regina George, Barrett Wilbert Weed as Janis Sarkisian, Ashley Park as Gretchen Wieners, and Kate Rockwell as Karen Smith. The show received positives reviews from critics, and was nominated for twelve awards at the 72nd Tony Awards, including Best Musical.[122] An original Broadway cast recording was released on May 18, 2018.[123] Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the show played its final performance on Broadway on March 11, 2020 after one performance with a mostly new cast.[124]
On January 23, 2020, Tina Fey announced that a film adaptation of the stage musical was in active development.[125] The film was directed by Samantha Jayne and Arturo Perez Jr. in their feature film directorial debut, with Fey returning to write the screenplay and also produce alongside returning producer Lorne Michaels. Richmond and Benjamin also returned to rework their songs from the musical.[126]
The film adaptation was released theatrically on January 12, 2024 by Paramount Pictures, after being originally set to premiere on the streaming service Paramount+.[127] Reneé Rapp, who previously portrayed Regina as a replacement for Louderman in the musical from 2019 until its closure in 2020, reprises her role, while Fey and Tim Meadows reprise their roles from the original film.[128][129] Ashley Park, who originated the role of Gretchen in the stage musical, makes a cameo in the film.[130]
Novels
A novelization based on the script, by author Micol Ostow, was released in September 2017 by Scholastic.[131] Another novelization written in the style of William Shakespeare by Ian Doescher was released in April 2019, under the title William Shakespeare's Much Ado About Mean Girls.[132]
On September 29, 2020, a graphic novel, written by Arianna Irwin and illustrated Alba Cardona, was released by Insight Editions. Titled Mean Girls: Senior Year, it picks up after the events of the film and centers on the arrival of a new student, Megan Moretti, who wants to be the most popular kid at school.[133][134][135] A Little Golden Book retelling the movie was released in 2024.[136]
