Millennials feel personally victimised by Mean Girls trailer: ‘How old do they think I am?’

Millennials were sent into frenzy after ‘Mean Girls’ musical trailer suggested they were old enough to have their own children

The new trailer for the Mean Girls movie musical has dropped, but fans of the original are feeling personally victimised - not by Regina George, but by the tagline: “This isn’t your mother’s Mean Girls.”

On 8 November, Paramount Pictures released the first trailer for Tina Fey’s forthcoming Mean Girls movie musical, based on Fey’s Broadway adaptation of the 2004 teen comedy. The remake stars Sex Lives of College Girls alum Reneé Rapp, who just so happened to play the role of “Queen Bee” Regina George on Broadway. Angourie Rice plays new girl Cady Heron - originated by Lindsay Lohan - while Tim Meadows and Fey return as Principal Duval and Ms Norbury, respectively.

While the action-packed trailer gave fans a sneak peek of what to expect when it hits theatres on 12 January 2024, there was one line in the teaser that caught viewers’ attention. At just the six-second mark into the teaser, in pink block letters, the trailer warns: “This isn’t your mother’s Mean Girls.”

For those who are uninformed about the original Mean Girls movie, the cult classic film was released on 30 April 2004. The movie, which also launched the careers of Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfriend, was originally marketed towards fellow teen girls of the mid-aughts. Flash forward 20 years later, original Mean Girls fans are now in their late twenties or early-to-mid-thirties.

Of course, millennial fans of the original 2004 film were taken aback by the musical trailer essentially calling them old, and suggesting they now have children of their own. Unsurprisingly, many people on social media couldn’t help but wonder exactly how old the marketing team for the Mean Girls musical thinks fans of the original actually are.

“I’m so confused by this promo. My mother’s Mean Girls was Heathers. My Mean Girls was Mean Girls. I do not have children,” one person wrote on X, formerly known as Twitter. “How old do they think I am?? How old do they think my mother is??”

“Lol how old do they think we were when we saw Mean Girls,” another user asked.

“Bold of them to assume millennials had children,” someone else said.

Others pointed out that their mother’s Mean Girls wasn’t Mean Girls at all, but rather cult classic movies of the 1980s, such as Heathers and Grease.

“Who is this talking to because my mother’s Mean Girls was Heathers and my daughter is six,” one user wrote.

“I think my mother’s Mean Girls was Grease?” another said.

Much like the original Mean Girls film, the movie musical follows high schooler Cady who moves from Africa to the Illinois suburbs and finds herself caught up in the school’s social hierarchy. Also starring in the remake is Moana star Auli’i Cravalho and Tony-nominated actor Jaquel Spivey as Cady’s unpopular friends, Janis and Damian. The Office alum Jenna Fischer plays Cady’s mother, while The Summer I Turned Pretty’s Christopher Briney portrays school heartthrob Aaron Samuels. Jon Hamm also makes a surprise appearance as the sex-ed teacher, Coach Carr.

Since it was released in 2004, the original Mean Girls movie has grossed $130m (£105m) worldwide. In 2018, the Mean Girls musical was nominated for 12 Tony Awards, including Best Musical, Best Leading Actress (Taylor Louderman as Regina George), and Best Book of a Musical.

Mean Girls will be released in US theatres on 12 January 2024.