Legally Blonde 3's Mindy Kaling Explains Why The Reese Witherspoon Movie Is Taking So Long

In late 2020, MGM Studios officially announced that Elle Woods would return to the big screen in May 2022 for Legally Blonde 3. With that upcoming movie release date just one month away, I’m sad to report that piece of news did not age well. While the Legally Blonde sequel is very much still in the works, the movie has yet to begin filming. It’s going to be a longer wait, and Mindy Kaling, one of the film’s writers, has just shared an update about why this is the case.

Mindy Kaling is a talented writer and producer who has penned words for The Office, The Mindy Project, The Sex Lives of College Girls and Never Have I Ever. She’s also a massive Legally Blonde fan and friend of Reese Witherspoon’s. Here’s the most recent update from Kaling:

We don’t want to be responsible for ruining what’s basically Reese’s Avengers franchise.

While speaking to Time, Kaling got real about having the beloved comedy in her hands. Plain and simple, she doesn’t want to mess it up and is taking the time to write a good script before beginning production. Mindy Kaling has been attached to write Legally Blonde 3 alongside Dan Goor, who created Parks and Recreation and Brooklyn Nine-Nine, for two years now.

Of course, it’s not as if Mindy Kaling isn’t busy in her own right with other projects, and Reese Witherspoon has been running her own media company, Hello Sunshine. She recently produced the upcoming adaptation of Where The Crawdads Sing, among a long list of other films and TV shows.

Although we’ll have to wait longer for Legally Blonde 3, Mindy Kaling did share some details about the questions she’s hoping to answer with the upcoming comedy. In her words:

What is Elle Woods like at 42? Does she end up becoming all the things she wanted? How does that personality manifest in a grown woman? Has she become more cynical? Her brightness and her cheerfulness really worked when she was 22, but how has life changed her perspective on things?

We’ll certainly be curious to see how Legally Blonde 3 will further develop Elle Woods, especially nearly 20 years after we’ve seen the character in a film. Kaling went on to discuss more about developing the movie:

We’re not afraid of the character in this world, and we don’t feel we have to apologize for her. As a fan, I didn’t want to watch her be canceled or become a Karen. So the character is just fun. That’s what’s been interesting and challenging—and why it’s taking us such a long time to write.

It sounds like fans of Legally Blonde are in good hands with Mindy Kaling. She clearly is a legitimate enthusiast of the Gemini vegetarian and all her bending and snapping in today’s era. Witherspoon has become a major name in Hollywood since starring in the original film as well, with many other opportunities at her disposal, so it just wouldn’t be worth the actress/producer’s time if the sequel didn’t do Elle Woods justice. We’ll continue to keep you updated here on CinemaBlend when we learn more about Legally Blonde 3.