Everyone’s favorite Gemini vegetarian is postponing her return to the big screen. “Legally Blonde 3” has pushed back its release date and will debut in May 2022.
Reese Witherspoon is reprising her iconic role as sorority girl-turned-lawyer Elle Woods for the third installment in the series. The threequel, from MGM, was initially scheduled to open this February, but those plans were quietly derailed even before the coronavirus pandemic caused movie theaters to close earlier this year.
Mindy Kaling and Dan Goor (“Brooklyn-Nine Nine,” “Parks and Recreation”) wrote the screenplay for “Legally Blonde 3.” A director has not been set yet, nor have additional cast members. Plot details have also been kept under wraps.
“Legally Blonde” originally debuted in 2001 and became a huge hit, earning $141 million at the box office. The comedy centers on Elle Woods, a sorority girl president who gets a law degree from Harvard to win back her ex-boyfriend. The cast also featured Luke Wilson, Selma Blair and Jennifer Coolidge.
A sequel, “Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde” was released in 2013 and followed Elle to Washington D.C. as she fights to pass a law called Bruiser’s Bill, an effort to stop make-up testing on animals. Though the follow-up was saddled with negative reviews, that didn’t affect ticket sales. It grossed nearly $125 million globally.
The first movie later inspired a Tony-nominated musical — starring Laura Bell Bundy as Elle Woods — that ran on Broadway for a year.
Witherspoon will also produce “Legally Blonde 3” though her company, Hello Sunshine. Marc Platt, who produced the first two films, is returning for the third.