Selma Blair set the record straight about whether she will be featured in the upcoming “Cruel Intentions” television series.
Blair, who starred in the hit 1999 film, spoke to Variety at the Power of Women event on Oct. 24, shortly after the trailer for Prime Video series “Cruel Intentions” debuted online.
“I knew it was coming but I can’t believe I haven’t seen the trailer,” she told the publication.
When asked whether fans can expect to see her in the series, Blair said, “Maybe there will be a cameo or something but no, I haven’t been asked anything.”
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Despite not having a part in the new series, Blair shared her intentions to tune in, telling Variety, “I’m excited to see it.”
Blair starred as Cecile Caldwell in the original late ‘90s movie alongside Sarah Michelle Gellar, Ryan Phillippe and Reese Witherspoon.
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Based on the novel “Dangerous Liaisons,” the film spawned two sequels that featured new casts, including 2001’s “Cruel Intentions 2,” which according to Deadline was originally meant to be a prequel series called “Manchester Prep,” and 2004’s “Cruel Intentions 3.”
In 2016, Variety reported that NBC ordered a “Cruel Intentions” pilot as a direct sequel to the original movie, with Gellar revealing in February 2016 that she would be returning as her character, Kathryn Merteuil. However, the show ultimately did not move forward.
Looking back at the series, Gellar told The New York Times in September 2022 that she “was actually grateful” the series didn’t even up happening.
“That was a whole crazy time. Nothing against NBC, but ‘Cruel Intentions’ is straight streaming,” she explained. “On the first day, I was like, ‘This isn’t working.’ It’s just not a network show. And if it is a network show, it’s not my ‘Cruel Intentions.’ So, I was actually grateful.”
After news broke in 2023 about the new “Cruel Intentions” TV adaption, Gellar was asked by Variety whether she was involved, to which she replied, “No. I’ve learned a lesson with that, which is it’s a very difficult process.”
“And eventually, or inevitably, you’re going to be let down,” she added. “Because some people want a new (version), some people want this, and my place in something like that only makes you compare it to the original. And if there’s a new take and new whatever, then they get a chance to stand on their own.”
At the time, Gellar said she only learned about the new series initially after she “heard about it online,” before noting that she “was contacted afterwards.”
The new Prime Video drama, set to premiere Nov. 21, follows a similar plot to the original series. Set at Manchester College, an elite school in Washington D.C., Amazon described the series as “a fresh take on an age-old challenge: preserving power and reputation by any means necessary.”
After a hazing incident that puts the Greek system at risk at the school, stepsiblings Caroline Merteuil (Sarah Catherine Hook) and Lucien Belmont (Zac Burgess) seek to maintain their influence, which includes a ploy to seduce Annie Grover (Savannah Lee Smith), the daughter of the vice president of the United States.
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