We may not have an official release date for the movie musical version of “Mean Girls” just yet, but production is underway and, according to actress Auli’i Cravalho, it’s “been amazing,” thanks to the guidance of Tina Fey.
Cravalho, best known for lending her voice to Disney’s heroine Moana, is set to play Janis in the new version of the movie. The role was originated in “Mean Girls” by Lizzy Caplan, and on Broadway by Barrett Wilbert Weed. Not much is known about this iteration of Janis yet, aside from the fact that this time around, she’ll apparently have some green in her hair, for which Cravalho was particularly excited.
Both the original film and the stage adaptation of “Mean Girls” were written by Tina Fey, and she is returning once more for the movie musical, while also reprising her film role of Ms. Norbury. And, as Cravalho tells it, there’s a universal goal on set to do Fey’s work justice once more.
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“I’m having a great time. I’m singing the songs, we pre-recorded. Tina Fey is part of our producing team. And she — we’re all just wanting to make Tina proud,” Cravalho told TheWrap while promoting her next project, Prime Video’s “The Power.” “Our directors, Samantha [Jayne] and Arturo [Perez] are killing it. They’re having so much fun, I think just as much fun as we are on set.”
Obviously, Cravalho couldn’t give up anything in the way of spoilers, but she did note that fans should be excited for Jayne and Perez’s choices, just in terms of how the movie musical is being shot.
“I love that they come from also a music background, because they’re making choices that are so very different from what we would usually see in film, including long one takes and you know, taking time to really appreciate the live vocal elements of songs,” Cravalho teased.
When it comes to the rest of the cast, Cravalho promised that Regina George, Cady Heron, and the rest of the gang are in good hands.
“We also have you know, Renee Rapp, who comes from Broadway, Jaquel Spivey, who comes from Broadway and then Angourie Rice, who is beloved, and my God, gives so much heart to our main character Cady,” she added. “I am very blessed to be a part of it.”
You can watch part of TheWrap’s interview with Cravalho in the video above.
