Mindy Kaling talks writing 'Legally Blonde 3': Elle Woods is 'kind of like Reese's "Avengers" character'
As a writer on the much anticipated — and long delayed — Legally Blonde 3, Mindy Kaling is very familiar with every scene of the romantic comedy, especially the one that captures her friend Reese Witherspoon's character Elle Woods instructing others on how to do a certain move.
"Believe me, we have researched every moment of the first movie," Kaling tells Yahoo Entertainment, "and the bend and snap — which is obviously iconic and so funny — we have been looking into, like, 'What would be the 2022 version of the bend and snap?'"
Kaling and Dan Goor (Brooklyn Nine-Nine) were brought in to work on the script, which was initially penned by Karen McCullah and Kristen Smith, who wrote the original in 2001.
"We are working on a draft of the movie, and hopefully it'll be done by like mid-summer," Kaling says. "Then we're gonna turn it in Reese, and it's always weird when you're working for your friend. Cause you're like, 'I hope you like it.' Cause obviously the role is so iconic for her, and I love the character so much, so I want her to be happy."
Kaling remembers people quoting Elle Woods's most famous lines to Witherspoon when the two were in New Zealand — both were part of the cast of 2018's A Wrinkle in Time, which filmed there. She wants to make sure to get the new movie right.
"The character is so iconic, and it's kind of like Reese's Avengers character," Kaling says. "There's something about this… it's sort of universal… about being someone who's intelligent but girly [and] not being taken seriously. And it sort of transcends cultures, races, ages, so I think that, like, for her, making sure that that character is written as smart… you know, it's really hard to nail that tone and I felt so honored that she wanted me to take a stab at it."
Besides Legally Blonde 3 and her TV work, including the new seasons of The Sex Lives of College Girls and Never Have I Ever, Kaling is currently teaming up with mobile payment platform Zelle.
"I get asked to partner with lots of different things, but I rarely get to do something that I already use and love. So I was like, 'Yes! I have this app already. I'm using it. Let's do this, please,'" Kaling says. "If you know anything about me, it's how much I love to shop, and now that COVID's over, go on vacations and go to dinners and just enjoy life again."
Aside from work, the former star of The Mindy Project explains that she recently returned home from a week in her hometown of Boston, and she's planning a girls' trip to Cabo San Lucas, Mexico.
