Are You the Next Elle Woods? Reese Witherspoon Sets Open Casting Call for YoungLegally BlondeCharacter

Mar. 15, 2025

The search for the next Elle Woods is officially underway!Reese Witherspoon, who originated the iconic, pink-powered lawyer character in the 2001 filmLegally Blonde, announced in anInstagram videoon Wednesday, Sept. 25, that “Our search for the high school version of Elle Woods is officially ON! 💖✨.“Witherspoon, 48, said that the casting is for a teenage version of the character for the upcomingprequel seriesElle, and wrote in her caption, “With our friends@primevideowe’re making the casting process totally OPEN, so you can submit your auditions at thelink in my bio.““I’m SO excited to see all your fabulous takes on everyone’s favorite Gemini vegetarian! 💕👛🌟🎀,” her caption concluded, calling out one of Elle’s famous lines in the film.Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.Prime Video announced the prequel series back in May, noting that it will be made in partnership with Witherspoon’s media company Hello Sunshine.Ellewill follow Elle Woods through her high-school years, long before her time as the nation’s premier lawyer in pink. According to a release, the prequel delves into “the life experiences that shaped her into the iconic young woman we came to know and love in the firstLegally Blondefilm.”Witherspoon will serve as an executive producer for the series alongside Lauren Neustadter, Lauren Kisilevsky, Marc Platt and creator Laura Kittrell, who wrote for shows likeInsecureandHigh School.“Fans will get to know how Elle Woods navigated her world as a teenager with her distinct personality and ingenuity, in ways that only our beloved Elle could do. What could be better than that?!” Witherspoon said in a statement at the time, in part.The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!Reese Witherspoon inLegally Blonde(2001).Tracy Bennett/MGM Pictures/GettyWitherspoon also previously confirmed that she would reprising the role of Elle in a third installment of the beloved film franchise, which also included 2003’sLegally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde.“It’s true…#LegallyBlonde3,” she captioned a June 2018video of herselfwearing a pink sequin bikini while lounging on a blue pool float. (Legally Blondefans immediately recognized that Witherspoon wasrecreating Elle’s Harvard video essayfrom the first movie.)In July 2022, theAcademy Awardwinner toldUSA Todaythat she’s hopingLegally Blonde 3"is gonna come together in the right way” and compared the budding film toTop Gun: Maverick— a sequel that premiered 36 years after the original movie.“They waited a long time to make another version of that movie, and I loved the nostalgia piece they incorporated in it,” Witherspoon said. “That gave us a lot of inspiration aboutwhat we would want to dowith Elle Woods and make sure that we had all those same touchstones that mattered to people [back] then.”

The search for the next Elle Woods is officially underway!

Reese Witherspoon, who originated the iconic, pink-powered lawyer character in the 2001 filmLegally Blonde, announced in anInstagram videoon Wednesday, Sept. 25, that “Our search for the high school version of Elle Woods is officially ON! 💖✨.”

Witherspoon, 48, said that the casting is for a teenage version of the character for the upcomingprequel seriesElle, and wrote in her caption, “With our friends@primevideowe’re making the casting process totally OPEN, so you can submit your auditions at thelink in my bio.”

“I’m SO excited to see all your fabulous takes on everyone’s favorite Gemini vegetarian! 💕👛🌟🎀,” her caption concluded, calling out one of Elle’s famous lines in the film.

Never miss a story — sign up forPEOPLE’s free daily newsletterto stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer​​, from celebrity news to compelling human-interest stories.

Prime Video announced the prequel series back in May, noting that it will be made in partnership with Witherspoon’s media company Hello Sunshine.

Ellewill follow Elle Woods through her high-school years, long before her time as the nation’s premier lawyer in pink. According to a release, the prequel delves into “the life experiences that shaped her into the iconic young woman we came to know and love in the firstLegally Blondefilm.”

Witherspoon will serve as an executive producer for the series alongside Lauren Neustadter, Lauren Kisilevsky, Marc Platt and creator Laura Kittrell, who wrote for shows likeInsecureandHigh School.

“Fans will get to know how Elle Woods navigated her world as a teenager with her distinct personality and ingenuity, in ways that only our beloved Elle could do. What could be better than that?!” Witherspoon said in a statement at the time, in part.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

Reese Witherspoon inLegally Blonde(2001).Tracy Bennett/MGM Pictures/Getty

Tracy Bennett/MGM Pictures/Getty

Witherspoon also previously confirmed that she would reprising the role of Elle in a third installment of the beloved film franchise, which also included 2003’sLegally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde.

“It’s true…#LegallyBlonde3,” she captioned a June 2018video of herselfwearing a pink sequin bikini while lounging on a blue pool float. (Legally Blondefans immediately recognized that Witherspoon wasrecreating Elle’s Harvard video essayfrom the first movie.)

In July 2022, theAcademy Awardwinner toldUSA Todaythat she’s hopingLegally Blonde 3"is gonna come together in the right way” and compared the budding film toTop Gun: Maverick— a sequel that premiered 36 years after the original movie.

“They waited a long time to make another version of that movie, and I loved the nostalgia piece they incorporated in it,” Witherspoon said. “That gave us a lot of inspiration aboutwhat we would want to dowith Elle Woods and make sure that we had all those same touchstones that mattered to people [back] then.”

source: people.com