2024’s Mean Girls, a cinematic adaptation of the hit Broadway musical, is a song-and-dance-ified retelling of the 2004 movie starring Lindsay Lohan and Rachel McAdams. This time around, Angourie Rice steps in as Cady Heron and Renee Rapp portrays Plastics’ leader Regina George (she previously portrayed the beloved baddie on the Great White Way). If you’re a fan of such musical splendors, here are other movie musicals coming out later this year, following in the footsteps of Mean Girls and Wonka.
‘Joker: Folie a Deux’ | October 4, 2024
Though bound to be a little less pink and bubbly than Mean Girls, Joker: Folie a Deux sees multi-hyphenate Lady Gaga step in as Harley Quinn across from Joaquin Phoenix’s Joker. While the plot is being largely kept under wraps, Hildur Guðnadóttir (the genius composer behind Tar, Women Talking, Joker, and A Haunting in Venice) is behind the score.
We’re bound to see a few dark and twisted numbers, and maybe a few ballads about toxic love when this film hits silver screens. And, if anyone can play a woman characterized by insanity and obsession, playfulness and wit, it’s the star whose fans call themselves little monsters.
‘Wicked: Part One’ | November 27, 2024
Based on the long-running Broadway musical of the same name, Wicked sees Ariana Grande and Cynthia Erivo step in as unlikely friends Glinda and Elphaba, respectively. For those who don’t know the tale (and liver under a rock): Wicked is a prequel to The Wizard of Oz and chronicles Elphaba’s fate from academically-inclined sorceress to a woman framed by the Wizard of Oz, leading to her more well-known name, — The Wicked Witch of the West. The movie also stars Jonathan Bailey as Fiyero, the beloved love interest to both the blonde beauty and the green social justice warrior. Jon M. Chu (The Company You Keep, Home Before Dark) directs with a screenplay by Winnie Holzman (My So-Called Life).
‘The End’ | 2024
The End is an upcoming apocalyptic musical directed and co-written by Joshua Oppenheimer (The Act of Killing, The Look of Silence). It is being pitched as a golden-age-style musical about the last human family and is slated for a 2024 release. The film stars Michael Shannon, Tilda Swinton, Lennie James, George MacKay, and Bronagh Gallagher.
‘Spellbound’ | 2024
Spellbound is set in a world of magic and follows a young girl (Rachel Zegler) who must break the spell that has split her kingdom into two. The animated musical fantasy directed by Vicky Jensen (Shrek) with a screenplay by Linda Woolverton (The Lion King, Maleficent: Mistress of Evil) boasts music composed by the living legend Alan Menken (The Little Mermaid, Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast) with lyrics co-written by frequent collaborator Glenn Slater (Broadway’s School of Rock, The Little Mermaid). The film’s stellar voice cast also includes Nicole Kidman, Javier Bardem, John Lithgow, Nathan Lane, and Jenifer Lewis.
‘Mufasa: The Lion King’ | December 20, 2024
The upcoming CGI spectacle from mega-media conglomerate Disney will explore Mufasa’s origins, as Simba works to ensure that his son follows in his footsteps as the King of Pride Lands. Billy Eichner and Seth Rogen return to voice Timon and Pumbaa, respectively. Aaron Pierre (The Underground Railroad, Brother, Old) will follow in the incomparable James Earl Jones’ footsteps as the voice of Mufasa. Barry Jenkins directs with a screenplay from Jeff Nathanson (Catch Me If You Can, Pirates of the Caribbean: Dead Men Tell No Tales).
Though the live-action retelling of The Lion King was not exactly a critical success — with many condemning its scene-for-scene retelling of the 1994 original minus the expressiveness and playful nature tied to animation — it grossed a ton of money. Thus, it should come as no surprise that Disney is moving forward with another narrative in the same universe.
