Freaky Friday is a fantasy comedy film that was released in the year 2003. Directed by Mark Waters, the film starred Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan as mother and daughter respectively. The light-hearted and humorous film deals with body swapping and was a major critical as well as box office success.
In March 2024, Lohan confirmed that the much-awaited sequel is in the works and she will be reuniting with Curtis in it. Since then, fans have been eager to know more about the sequel of Freaky Friday. If you are a fan of the film and are wondering about the sequel, this article is for you so keep reading.
What Is Freaky Friday All About?
Freaky Friday was written by Heather Hach and Leslie Dixon. It was based on the 1972 comic novel for children of the same name by Mary Rodgers. Disney had earlier adapted the novel in 1976 and in 1995 as a television movie.
The film was directed by Mark Waters and followed the story of Anna Coleman (played by Lindsay Lohan) who is an aspiring teenage girl in her teens. She lives with her widowed mother Tess (Jamie Lee Curtis) who is a psychiatrist by profession. There is always a tussle between the two due to the generation gap and both of them believe that the other doesn’t understand them.
Meanwhile, Tess is engaged to a guy named Ryan (Mark Harmon). Anna does not like him as she still has not been able to recover from her father’s death that took place three years ago. Anna faces bullying and teachers who are strict in school. Her crush on a boy is also disapproved by her mother. All these further affect the mother-daughter relationship.
However, things take a turn when a Chinese fortune cookie comes into the story that has magical powers. This leads to the body swap of the two. The next day, Anna and Tess have interchanged their bodies and are forced to live each other’s lives. This leads to more discoveries and a change of heart.
What Happened At The End of Freaky Friday?
In the second half of the film, we see Ryan giving a surprise to Tess (who is actually Anna) with an interview on a talk show to talk about her new book. Since Anna has not read the book and has no idea about it, she goes on to talk about what it is like getting old.
This makes Ryan further fall in love with Tess. Later on, we see Tess telling Anna to ask Ryan to shelve the date of their wedding until the body swapping is undone and things go back to normal.
However, Anna proposes a toast and eventually accepts Ryan. She understands that he is making Tess happy in life. Right after that, an earthquake takes place at the location, and after that both Tess and Anna return to their original bodies. Later on, Tess and Ryan tie the knot. Tess also allows Anna to date Jake whom she earlier disapproved of.
During their reception, we witness the performance of Pink Slip. Pei-Pei’s mother offers fortune cookies to Harry and Alan after seeing them getting into an argument. Toward the end, we see Pei-Pei slap the cookies from their hands.
What To Expect From Freaky Friday Sequel?
In May 2023, Disney confirmed that the beloved 2003 film will be returning for a sequel around the time of the film’s 20th anniversary. During that time, both Lohan and Curtis spoke about shooting the film and stated that they were open to a sequel.
In October 2022, Curtis also opened up about doing a sequel of Freaky Friday. The film’s producer Andrew Gunn also confirmed that time that they are working on a script and Nisha Ganatra will be directing the sequel. Gunn will be producing the film with Kristin Burr.
On March 4, 2024, while promoting her film Irish Wish, Lindsay Lohan confirmed to Andy Cohen that the sequel was indeed in the works and that both she and Curtis would be returning to reprise their roles.
Lohan confirmed on March 4, 2024, that a sequel is currently in development. Curtis had said in an interview that she wants to be the grandmother in the sequel who will switch bodies with her daughter. This will lead to a hilarious situation in which Lohan would be playing the role of a grandmother.
The actress further stated that she wants to deal with toddlers in the sequel from today’s day and age and try helicopter parenting. So we can expect another body swapping between mother and daughter that will lead to funny situations. The shooting began in June 2024 and Disney also provided a glimpse into their behind-the-scenes picture.
Who Will Be In The Cast?
Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis have been confirmed to return as Anna and Tess Coleman respectively for the sequel. Chad Michael Murray will reprise Jake’s role while Christina Vidal Mitchell will be Maddie. Apart from them, we can also expect Mark Harmon to return as Tess’s husband Ryan.
Besides them, Julia Butters will also appear in the film. Some new faces include Maitreyi Ramakrishnan, Manny Jacinto and Sophia Hammons.
Conclusion
Freaky Friday remains one of the most loved comedy films to ever come out of Hollywood. Curtis’s incredible performance earned her a Golden Globe Award in the Best Actress category. It also helped in cementing the name of Lohan as a reliable performer.
Despite having a plot surrounding body swap which had been earlier explored, Freaky Friday had a fresh take on it. The film’s simple plot and performance-driven structure made it connect with the audience.
While the story is derived from a children’s book, the film tackles several heavy and mature topics that resonate well with grownups as well. For many years, fans were waiting for its sequel. The film ends on a happy note, there are still many possibilities because of the fortune cookies. The announcement of the sequel has generated excitement among all the fans who have grown up watching the film.
