Disney is getting ready to get its freaky on one more time.
The studio has tapped Nisha Ganatra, who most recently helmed episodes of Hulu miniseries Welcome to Chippendales, to direct a sequel to its 2003 family comedy Freaky Friday, giving the long-promised project momentum and putting it on track for a summer shoot in Los Angeles.
Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan, who starred in the original, are in negotiations to reprise their roles as the mother and daughter combo who find themselves switching bodies and lives.
Curtis and Lohan have talked of their hopes for a sequel for several years now, but it’s only been in recent weeks that talks began in earnest. On Friday, Curtis posted a photo of herself with Lohan on Instagram.
Andrew Gunn, who produced the 2003 movie, is producing along with former Disney exec Kristin Burr. Ann Marie Sanderlin will executive produce. It is unclear whether the feature will be released theatrically or debut on Disney+. The project has an early draft from Elyse Hollander.
Disney has created a cottage industry with Freaky Friday, which includes several movies as well as a Broadway production. The franchise is based on the 1972 children’s book by Mary Rogers and the original adaptation, released in 1976, starred Barbara Harris as the mother and Jodie Foster as the daughter. Each installment tried to bring the core concept of living life in another person’s shoes into modern teen settings. Lohan is no longer a teen and the new script, by Jordan Weiss, is said to bring a multigenerational approach to the story.
Curtis is, one some levels, professionally hotter than ever, coming off an Oscar win for last year’s sensation Everything Everywhere All at Once and the recent Halloween trilogy reboot.
Lohan is in the midst of a comeback, having starred in a couple of popular Netflix romantic comedies, including this year’s Irish Wish.
Ganatra is known for bringing a light touch to her series work, which spans episodes of And Just Like That to Brooklyn Nine-Nine. Her feature work includes Late Night, the Mindy Kaling-Emma Thompson comedy set in the late night talk show world, and The High Note, the romantic drama set in the music arena that starred Dakota Johnson and Tracee Ellis Ross.
