Reese Witherspoon Is Set To Return In A '90s Sequel We Can All Get Excited About
It's Tracy Flick's world and we're just living in it... again.
Before she was "Legally Blonde" and headlining "The Morning Show," Reese Witherspoon was known the world as Tracy Flick, a hard-working and power-hungry high school senior who had her eyes on being class president. A lead player in "Election," Witherspoon received considerable acclaim for her role as the over-eager Flick, nabbing a Golden Globe nomination for Best Actress.
Directed by Alexander Payne, "Election" also starred Matthew Broderick as the middle-aged high school teacher Jim McAllister, who butts heads with Flick, the type of high-achieving student he has no choice but to hate thanks to his own insecurities. Set against a class president election, McAllister tries his darnedest to stomp on Flick's ambitions. The comedy went on to become a critical hit when it debuted in 1999 — it currently holds a whopping 92% on Rotten Tomatoes. The themes of high school politics, failure, and ambition struck a chord with audiences, with "Election" being named one of the best films of the nineties by Rolling Stone. Since its release, the film has received a Criterion release and has found a lifelong fan in President Barack Obama (via Vanity Fair).
A cult hit with an ever-expanding fanbase, Paramount has decided to green light a sequel with Witherspoon returning to the role of Flick after two decades.
The Election sequel is heading to Paramount+
The Hollywood Reporter confirms that Paramount Pictures is working on a sequel to "Election." Reese Witherspoon will return as everyone's favorite go-getter Tracy Flick, while Alexander Payne will once again step into the director's chair. He will co-write the upcoming sequel alongside frequent collaborator Jim Taylor. The duo wrote the original "Election" in 1999, walking away with a Best Adapted Screenplay nod at the Oscars.
The upcoming Flick outing is an adaptation of "Tracy Flick Can't Win," the recently released sequel to the 1998 Tom Perrotta novel which the Payne film was based on. "Tracy Flick Can't Win" sees the titular high-achiever stuck in a rut as an assistant school principal, trying to get her way to the top. It remains to be seen just how faithful the upcoming Witherspoon-Payne collaboration will be to the source material. There's nothing to indicate that Matthew Broderick's Jim McAllister will return for the sequel as of now.
The film, which is produced by Witherspoon, is slated to hit Paramount+. No word yet on when the "Election" sequel will debut on the service. Payne is currently helming the Paul Giamatti-starring "The Holdovers," which is slated for a late 2023 release, per Deadline.