Freaky Friday 2: is comedy sequel in the works, will Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis join cast?

Freaky Friday is one of the most iconic comedies of the early 2000s and even launched its own sub-genre - the body swap movie. The Change-Up, Your Name, It’s a Boy Girl Thing, and Jumanji: The Next Level all owe a lot to Freaky Friday.

Freaky Friday is based on the 1972 novel of the same name by Mary Rodgers. An original adaptation, starring Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris was released in 1976, and a Disney Channel made for TV film followed in 1995, but it was the 2003 version that became a fan favourite.

The 2003 film made $160 million globally at the box office and was the 20th highest grossing film of the year in the US that year. It also cemented the star power of young actress Lindsay Lohan, who the following year took on the leading role in the now classic comedy Mean Girls alongside Rachel McAdams and Amanda Seyfried.

Freaky Friday follows Tess and Anna, a mother and her teenage daughter who fail to see eye to eye because of the generation gap between them. One evening, the pair are having dinner at a Chinese restaurant where they have a huge argument. They are both given a fortune cookie after their meal and the next day when they wake up, they realise that they have swapped bodies.

Stunned by this strange turn of events, they then work together to figure out how to swap back into their right body. As they spend more time - literally - in the other’s shoes, they begin to understand each other more, and their bond becomes stronger.

This week, 20 years after the film first landed in cinemas, it has been reported that a sequel is finally in the works.

Is Freaky Friday 2 in the works?

According to The Hollywood Reporter, a Freaky Friday sequel is going ahead, with the main cast expected to return. The script is expected to be written by the relatively unknown producer and writer Elyse Hollander, who had previously worked on short films.

Jamie Lee Curtis expressed interest in a sequel last year as she revealed that she was still in touch with her former co-star Linsday Lohan - Lohan also stated that she would be open to returning to the world of Freaky Friday, though she said she would only want to make a sequel if it was a film that fans would love.

The plot of the Freaky Friday sequel is currently unknown - whether Tess and Anna will swap bodies again, or if that fate will befall two new characters, had not been confirmed. 

Additionally, it is not known if director Mark Waters, whose later films include Mean Girls, Mr. Popper’s Penguins, and Bad Santa 2, will return.

Who is in the cast of Freaky Friday 2?

Both Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis are expected to return - it’s hard to see how the sequel could go ahead without the original film’s two main stars.

Curtis, the daughter of Psycho star Janet Leigh, is best known for her role in the Halloween horror franchise, as well as for the horror comedy series Scream Queens, and her Oscar-winning performance in 2023’s Best Picture Everything Everywhere All At Once.

Lohan was a child star, having appeared in The Parent Trap and Another World - she was 16 when she starred alongside Curtis in Freaky Friday. Between 2007 and 2012 was arrested on several occasions, most of which were over drug and alcohol abuse, and her career suffered as a result. Her first leading film role since 2006 was in last year’s Netflix movie Falling for Christmas. She also featured as the narrator for 2022 reality series Lovestruck High.  

It is currently unknown whether other stars from the 2003 movie, such as Mark Harmon, Christina Vidal, and Chad Michael Murray, will reprise their roles in the sequel. 

When is the release date of Freaky Friday 2? 

As the film is currently in pre-production, a release date is not yet known, but it is unlikely to arrive in cinemas until late 2024 at the earliest. The film is expected to be available to stream on Disney+ shortly after its cinematic release.