Elle, the Legally Blonde prequel show, gets a significant filming and casting update from franchise star and executive producer Reese Witherspoon. The prequel was ordered to series at Prime Video back in March. Laura Kittrell will serve as showrunner, with the story taking a look at Elle Woods during her high school years before she became the young woman that audiences meet in the influential 2001 movie.
In new comments to PEOPLE, the Oscar-winning Witherspoon revealed that filming for Elle will begin in March. The project, which hails from Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine media company, is currently moving through the casting process. In the remarks below, the executive producer shares some insight into what it has been like looking for the young Elle Woods:
“I’m really excited. We start in March. I’m really excited because we’re going through the casting process right now and we’re picking who is going to play the young me. It’s kind of a trip.”
“It’s so exciting too, to watch these young girls that are so filled with enthusiasm and excitement and completely… There’s so many good ones. That’s the hard thing because there’s so many good people to choose from.”
Prime Video Might Make A Bold Casting Choice
One of the dings against Hollywood is that, especially when it comes to young actors, a lot of the most important roles tend to go out to already established and other very famous names that are already known for other characters. Studios do this, in part, as a way of mitigating what they believe to be a risk and streamlining the process. But on the opposite end, it makes it harder for newer actors to break out with a massive project.
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New Legally Blonde Prequel Show Already Has The Perfect Reese Witherspoon Replacement
Prime Video has the tall task of recasting Reese Witherspoon for Elle, a prequel series that will focus on Legally Blonde’s Elle’s high school years.
If the casting for Elle really is more open, this allows more room for a relative unknown to really break out and make the character their own, separate and apart from Witherspoon’s performance. The start date of March likely means that we’ll start hearing more about the prequel, including the actor chosen to play Elle, sooner rather than later.
Our Take On Elle
The Prequel Has Another Hurdle To Clear
Part of what makes the first Legally Blonde so enjoyable is tracking Elle’s evolution. Directed by Robert Luketic, with Karen McCullah Lutz and Kirsten Smith writing the script, the 2001 film features some genuinely enjoyable growth for Woods. It’ll be a tricky task to start over without that evolution and presumably find it again without nullifying the movie that fans love. But for Prime Video, which has had some success with young adult shows, they’ll be happy to try.
Source: PEOPLE