Salva Mubarak Senior Features Writer

With sequels and reboots being churned out (both internationally and domestically) by the dozen, it’s understandable to look at announcements of the reboots of beloved films with a sceptical eye.

But it’s a general consensus that a third instalment of the Legally Blonde series is overdue and we need more and more of Elle Woods and her adventures in our lives. So when Reese Witherspoon, the iconic Elle Woods herself, announced back in 2018 that a third part is, in fact, in the works, the fans were overjoyed. It’s been around four years since the announcement but the movie has undergone several delays and changes.

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But according to Witherspoon, it’ll all be worth it.

Turns out, the actress is afraid of disappointing fans with a movie that they fail to connect with and is working hard to bring the series to 2022 without losing its essence and charm. The Big Little Lies actress recently revealed that it was Top Gun: Maverick that inspired her to make some important changes to Legally Blonde 3 and make it right for a modern age.

“I’m still hoping that Legally Blonde 3 is gonna come together in the right way,” she said, in an interview with USA Today, “It’s just like Top Gun. They waited a long time to make another version of that movie, and I loved the nostalgia piece they incorporated in it. So definitely that gave us a lot of inspiration about what we would want to do with Elle Woods and make sure that we had all those same touchstones that mattered to people (back) then.”

Witherspoon added, “I feel like these characters are my friends, so I safeguard them. I would never make the subpar, mediocre version of their story.”

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While the last announced release date of the movie was some time in May 2022, it clearly didn’t work out that way (we’re stepping into August while this article is being written this and there has been no sign of a Legally Blonde 3 anywhere around!). The production of the movie hasn’t begun yet and it could be due to the meticulous scripting process that would ensure the movie is not ‘subpar’ or ‘mediocre’.

One factor that makes us positive that the movie would be a blast is that Mindy Kaling came on board as a writer in May 2020 and is working on the script along with Dan Goor (who has written shows like Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine Nine).

In April 2022, Kaling revealed that, in the third movie, Elle and her best friend Paulette (Jennifer Coolidge) will have a “juicy story”.

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“It is going, you know, a little more slowly than we like but [it’s] just because we really want it to be good,” said Kaling, in an interview with Entertainment Tonight, “I think of it like Reese’s Avengers. Elle Woods is like her Captain America, and so you don’t want to be the person that messes up that story.”

While only Witherspoon and Coolidge, from the 2001 original, have been confirmed as cast members of the third film, many OG members have expressed enthusiastic interest in coming back for the movie, including Matt Davis (Elle and Vivian’s ex), Holland Taylor (Professor Stromwell), and Luke Wilson (Elle’s love interest and eventual husband Emmett).

Are you excited for Legally Blonde 3?