Reese Witherspoon in Talks to Return for “Legally Blonde 3”

Reese Witherspoon at the "A Wrinkle In Time" film premiere, London, UK, Mar 2018. Photo by James Gourley/REX/Shutterstock (9457637az)

After toying with the idea for years, it looks like Legally Blonde 3 might actually happen and Reese Witherspoon may be back as Elle Woods. 

Deadline reports that the 42-year-old actress is in talks to reprise the iconic role in a third installment of the franchise. 

Legally Blonde hit our screens in 2001 becoming an instant hit. The original followed Elle the sorority queen on her quest to become a lawyer after she was dumped by her boyfriend.  In the 2003 sequel, the now fashionable attorney is in DC, to help a congresswoman pass a bill to ban animal testing.

The outlet also reports that MGM is in negotiations with the actress to produce the film, through her Hello Sunshine banner, alongside Marc Platt and Adam Siegel. Karen McCullah and Kirsten Smith, who adapted the novel for the original film, have also been tapped to pen the script for the upcoming new movie. 

Witherspoon has always been open to returning to the franchise, saying that it was a question of timing and of coming up with an interesting plot. 

In March 2017 she pitched possible plot lines with host James Corden on The Late Late Show. 

“I think it would be kind of cool to see her 15 years later. Like, what’s she doing now? What do you think? I don’t know. But I need a good idea,” Witherspoon said before Corden offered up an idea of his own: that Elle Woods becomes the first female president of the United States.

“She could, yeah,” Witherspoon responded. “She could be a Supreme Court Justice, or she could be a really great, powerful attorney… or she could be in prison!”

“She could be anything,” she added. “I don’t know!”

In 2016 she told E! News “We’ve thought about it. I need somebody really clever to come up with a great idea and we’ll do it. I do think it’s a good time to do it—I think women need that kind of positivity right now.”

In 2015 she told ET that a third movie perhaps should portray more women in politics. “I think it’s a really great time to talk about women in politics because we need more women in politics. We’re 50 percent of the population, but we’re only 17 percent of the government. We need some balance there.”

Legally Blonde grossed $141 million worldwide on an $18 million budget. The sequel grossed $124 million on a $45 million budget.