Everything we know about "Legally Blonde 3"

Do you remember Elle Woods, the sunny and tough girl who studied law, loved Cosmopolitan, her chihuahua Tyson and total pink outfits? Well, get ready because the protagonist of Legally Blonde, one of the most famous teen comedies of the early 2000s, is about to return to the screen with a new sequel. The news has been going around for a few years now. Back in 2015, Reese Witherspoon had come out in favor of stepping into the shoes of the Harvard student again, and during Fashionably Late With Rachel Zoe, she had said:

«I think it would be cool. I think we’re ready to see Elle and see what she’s up to lately. A lot of writers over the years have come up with different ideas for it. I actually think it’s kind of great right now because we’re talking about women in politics and how important that is to get more women. And I think it’d be kind of a cool thing to have her be a Supreme Court justice or somebody who runs for office, president.»

Then, in 2018, the actress confirmed the rumors with an Instagram post in which she recreated one of the most iconic scenes from the first film, paired with the caption "It’s true... #LegallyBlonde3".

Unfortunately, due to the pandemic, the project, which was supposed to hit theaters in 2020, has been on standby for a long time and, until a few months ago, there were no more updates. During the lockdown, a call between Reese Witherspoon and JLo who, after re-watching the 2000s cult film with her children, asked her colleague for news on the third chapter reignited fans' hopes, confirming that the sequel is still in the works. A tweet from MGM Studios had announced that Legally Blonde 3 was officially scheduled for release in late May 2022, but then the news was not really followed up.

Details about the new movie are still few. So far we know for sure that Elle Woods will still be played by Reese Witherspoon, who will be the actress, but also the producer of the project with her HelloSunshine. Many hope to see other members of the original cast, but, although there are no official statements, it is expected that there will be Jennifer Coolidge in the role of Paulette Bonafonté and Luke Wilson in that of Emmett Richmond, the lawyer with whom Elle married at the end of Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde. In an interview with Entertainment Tonight on the occasion of the premiere of Your Place or Mine, the upcoming Netflix romantic comedy in which she co-stars with Ashton Kutcher, Reese clarified, «There is no Legally Blonde 3 without Jennifer Coolidge», adding that she is excited about the success her colleague is enjoying thanks to The White Lotus and that she deserves all the attention and recognition she has been getting lately, not only for the quality of her work, but also because she is a lovely person. In the past, Coolidge had said that she knew nothing about a sequel and that she had not been approached to reprise her role, but according to Witherspoon's statements, that could now change.

Writing the script for the sequel will be Dan Goor and Mindy Kaling, best known for playing the role of Kelly Kapoor on the series The Office and for starring in the sitcom The Mindy Project.

I love the franchise so much. I love Elle Woods as a character and when Reese asked me to write it I was like, "Absolutely!’" - Kaling told Access Hollywood, adding that there will also be several references to the first film's "bend and snap" - "Bend and Snap is forever. We definitely have a lot of fans of the original film. I don’t know when we’ll be able to shoot movies again but it would be great to, if Reese likes the script, shooting it this year would be awesome.

The story will follow the evolution of Elle who should be around 40 years old by now, but no other details are known yet. In a 2019 video for The Hollywood Reporter site Witherspoon had, however, given some small insights:

«So much fun. So full of fashion. So full of awesome feminist ideas. It will be global. It will have animals. It will have returning cast members. We just need to film it first. But that's my hope and dream for Legally Blonde 3. It will be the return of Jennifer Coolidge, which is the greatest.»

While we wait to hear more updates, let's see the best looks of Legally Blonde and Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde.