The long-gestating sequelLegally Blonde 3could finally be getting on track after the success ofTop Gun: Maverick. Bringing back Tom Cruise to reprise his role from the originalTop Gun, the sequel lit the box office on fire by generating more than $1.2 billion in revenue. It continues to screen in theaters where the millions keep piling up, turningMaverickinto one of the highest-grossing releases of all time.
Some of the success ofTop Gun: Maverickhas been attributed to nostalgia. There had never been a sequel to the original film, which was released in 1986, and manyTop Gunfans were eager to see Cruise reunite with Val Kilmer in the new movie. Of course, the film’s high production value and immensely positive reviews have also helpedMaverickwith its theatrical run, but the nostalgia factor was certainly helpful.
In a new interview withUSA Today,Legally BlondestarReese Witherspoonspoke about the current status of the third film. Back in 2020, it had been announced that the movie had been set for a 2022 release, but the project fizzled out before production ever began. Witherspoon explains thatMaverickperforming so well at theaters has her feeling inspired to pickLegally Blonde 3back up, feeling that the time is now right to make the third installment as enough time has passed to make it feel nostalgic.
“I’m still hoping that Legally Blonde 3 is gonna come together in the right way. 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 ensure that we had all those same touchstones that mattered to people (back) then. I feel like these characters are my friends, so I safeguard them. I would never make the subpar, mediocre version of their story.”
Related:Legally Blonde 3: Plot, Cast, and Everything Else We Know
Legally Blonde 3 Was Supposed to Release This Year
MGM felt confident enough in getting the sequel produced back in 2020 that it was given a release date for May 2022. That date has since come and gone without any updates, but there are fans still hopeful that Elle Woods will be back for another feature film. At the time, it was reported that Mindy Kaling and Dan Goor would be writing the screenplay. By September of last year, however, Witherspoon said that she still hadn’t seen the screenplay, the project apparently having stalled.
“We don’t have a script yet,” Witherspoon said onEntertainment Tonight. “Mindy Kaling’s busy. Mindy’s working hard on it, I know she is. And she and I just love each other. We have a great laugh just thinking about, ‘What would Elle Woods be doing right now?'”
As of now, there’s no new release date set forLegally Blonde 3with the film’s current status still up in the air.
