Emmett and Elle forever! Luke Wilson is game for reprising his role in the third Legally Blonde movie — but he isn’t attached to it just yet.
“Of course [I’d do it],” Wilson, 49, exclusively told Us Weekly. “As for the Legally Blonde that we’re hearing about now — I don’t know anything than the usual man on the street. And that’s really the truth. I’ve heard they’re writing it and trying to put it together, but they’re keeping it pretty firmly under wraps.”
Wilson’s Emmett marries Elle Woods (Reese Witherspoon) in the 2003 sequel, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde. In October, it was officially confirmed that a third movie would debut in May 2022.
“I loved working with Reese, and definitely, that’s one of those movies where I never had that happen before to such a degree where when it came out, I’d go back to Texas and there would be little squadrons of girls who would come up at that age, like, 8 to 12 and 14, and they would have all these questions about Elle. They’d ask where she was and what she was doing and was she as great as she seemed,” Wilson told Us. “It’s just a good feeling. It’s one thing to make a movie people like, it’s another thing to make a movie that does well, but to have one that gets legs because of how people feel about it, that is a great feeling. To have a movie make a jump to generations.”
The actor recently reminisced about the Harvard Law School days with Witherspoon, 44, via Zoom to raise money for World Central Kitchen. They were joined by former costars Selma Blair, Jennifer Coolidge, Ali Larter, Holland Taylor, Matt Davis and more.
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“It was really funny reuniting with the cast. It was just really fun and funny to be around all of them,” Wilson continued. “When I read Legally Blonde, I just thought, ‘OK, I can tell what this is. It’s kind of a romantic comedy, it’s funny and it’s from that kind of era in the ‘90s when it came out.’ And then seeing the character Reese was doing, I was like, ‘This is a Saturday Night Live character. Like, she’s really committed to this.’ To me, it seemed like you can sometimes try an idea and people will be like, ‘Well, that’s funny, but it’s a little over the top.’ I was like, ‘Wow, she’s really going for it. This is like a Nicolas Cage type of commitment to an out-there character.’”
Wilson also has nothing but praise for bend-and-snap pro Coolidge, 59. The pair star together in the animated film Bobbleheads: The Movie, which is available on Digital and DVD and coming soon to Netflix.
“I remembered how funny she was, not only in Legally Blonde, but just on the set. I just thought, ‘Gosh, she’s really incredible.’ Definitely one of those people that’s doing the character, but you also realize how sharp they are. And just with these one-liners that they have,” Wilson said of Coolidge. “She just has such great ideas, and they are not what you might expect, but it always brings a fresh quality to it.”
Wilson and Coolidge play Earl and Binky, who sneak into Earl’s brother’s home to try to swap a new baseball player bobblehead for a valuable one. The only problem? The bobbleheads come alive and attack back. Wilson worked on a thick accent for his character and turned to his loved ones for inspiration.
“I kept in mind my nieces and nephews and stuff they watch and stuff they find funny when hanging around them and doing voices,” he told Us. “When I read Bobbleheads and started doing the voice of Earl, I just tried to practice different voices and tried to figure out what I was going to do. I would always kind of keep them in mind. Like over the top, they kind of love stuff like that. Goofy type humor. And also, what I would have liked as a kid.”
Wilson has gone back and forth between comedy and drama over the years, with roles in Old School, The Family Stone, The Goldfinch, The Royal Tenenbaums and Anchorman. One of his deciding factors for choosing a project depends on what kind of experience he will gain off camera.
“[With comedy], I mean it’s still hard work, but you have these clear goals to make something funny. Those times when you do drama it’s rewarding, but it is a little bit of a grind emotionally. But that’s part of why they are worthwhile to do,” he explained to Us. “I definitely found myself when I was figuring out what to do and keeping that in mind like, ‘How will you be feeling at work? And what will the goals be like? How will the other people be like to work with?’ … I just like the idea of feeling something that is kind of lighter.”
