‘Legally Blonde’ Prequel ‘Elle’ Adds James Van Der Beek to Ensemble & Everything Else We Know
The cast of Prime Video‘s upcoming Legally Blonde prequel series, Elle, is taking shape with some familiar faces joining a slew of newcomers for the new project, which chronicles the early years of the beloved character Elle Woods.
After previously revealing who will step into Elle’s shoes after Reese Witherspoon originated the role onscreen in the films, Prime Video has since shared some even more exciting updates about filming, including additional casting, and much more. Scroll down for a closer look at what’s to come as Elle takes shape at Prime Video, and stay tuned in the months ahead for updates.
Who will play Elle Woods in Elle?
It’s been officially announced that Lexi Minetree will take on the iconic role, portraying a teen version of Elle Woods in the Prime Video series. Her casting was unveiled in a sweet video alongside Witherspoon, who broke the news to Minetree in an emotional moment. Minetree was considered for the role after a nationwide open casting call.
“Allow me to introduce you to the new Elle Woods! After watching so many incredible auditions for the new Elle prequel series on @PrimeVideo, we finally found our Elle. And today, I got to break the news myself! Meet @leximinetree 💕🌟💅🏼” Witherspoon wrote on Instagram, captioning the video of herself and Minetree. Check it out, above.
What is Elle about?
Lexi Minetree via Instagram; ©MGM/Courtesy Everett Collection
According to the series’ logline, Elle follows Elle Woods in high school as we learn about the life experiences that shaped her into the iconic young woman we came to know and love in the first Legally Blonde film. In other words, get ready for the teen years of this legendary lawyer’s story.
Is Elle filming?
Witherspoon teased the start of production with an image of Minetree in character as she takes a phone call. “Harvard was hard. High School was harder. Our new series, Elle, is now in production!” she captioned the photo. See it below:
View this post on Instagram
Who else stars in Elle?
June Diane Raphael and Tom Everett Scott will play Elle’s parents, Eva and Wyatt, according to Variety.
On March 27, three more cast members were revealed: Chandler Kinney, Gabrielle Policano, and Jacob Moskovitz are also confirmed as series regulars, according to Deadline.
Moskovitz will be playing Miles, the star athlete of the school, who is charmed by Elle. Kinney’s character is Kimberly, a senior who’s not a fan of Elle, and Policano will star as Liz, who’s described as the “anti-Elle Woods.”
Since these casting reveals, Variety has announced that Chloe Wepper, David Burtka, Brad Harder, Kayla Maisonet, and Lisa Yamada would join as recurring guest stars. Weppre will play Elle’s chemistry teacher and cheer team choreographer, Ms. Burke, Burtka is set to play Elle’s neighbor Chad, and Harder will portray Chad’s husband, Charlie. Meanwhile, Maisonet and Yamada have been cast as Tiffany and Amber, friends of Elle’s high school circle.
Meanwhile, it was revealed by Deadline that James Van Der Beek would also join the series to play Dean Wilson, the city’s new mayoral candidate and current school district superintendent. Van Der Beek will appear in a recurring capacity.
Who makes Elle?
The series is created for television by Laura Kittrell, who serves as co-showrunner and executive producer with Caroline Dries. Witherspoon, Lauren Nuestadter, Lauren Kisilevsky, and Marc Platt also serve as executive producers. The show is produced by Hello Sunshine and Amazon MGM Studios.
Stay tuned for more updates on Elle as the series continues to take shape at Prime Video, and let us know what you think of the series in the comments section below.
Elle, Series Premiere, TBA, Prime Video
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