Reese Witherspoon offered Lexi Minetree surprising advice about taking on the role of Elle Woods in the Legally Blonde prequel series.
“[She told me], ‘Always choose kindness and never go low, even when other people do,'” Minetree, 25, exclusively told Us Weekly at the Elle red carpet premiere in New York City on Tuesday, June 23.
Minetree found that very meaningful as she brought a high school version of Elle to life, adding, “Because I think with Elle, the biggest thing is that no matter what people have done to her, she always gives them the benefit of the doubt and forgives them.”
Based on Amanda Brown‘s novel, the 2001 movie Legally Blonde introduced Us to Elle Woods (Witherspoon), a sorority girl who attempted to win back her ex-boyfriend Warner (Matthew Davis) by getting a degree at Harvard Law School. Luke Wilson, Selma Blair, Victor Garber and Jennifer Coolidge rounded out the cast, with a second movie following two years later.
While news broke in 2018 that Witherspoon, 50, had teamed up with Mindy Kaling for Legally Blonde 3, there has been no real update since. Instead, Prime Video announced a prequel focused on Elle’s move from Los Angeles to Seattle when she was in high school.
“We learn about the life experiences that shaped her into the iconic young woman we came to know and love in the first Legally Blonde film,” the official synopsis for the new series reads. “In other words, get ready for the teen years of this legendary lawyer’s story.”
In addition to Minetree, Elle stars June Diane Raphael and Tom Everett Scott as Elle’s parents. Chandler Kinney, Gabrielle Policano and Jacob Moskovitz were also announced as series regulars alongside Zac Looker, Jessica Belkin, Amy Pietz and more. (James Van Der Beek also joined the cast for what would become his final TV role before his death.)
Before Elle‘s premiere, Kinney, 25, spoke to Us about what fans can expect.
“This series was made with so much love. This also comes from the mind of Reese Witherspoon, [who plays Elle in the original films]. If that’s not a stamp of approval, I don’t know what is,” Kinney told Us. “She is so deeply involved in the creation of this show and she is either with us or her presence is felt from afar. But she’s been a part of this whole process from top to bottom. She is so protective over the character because this Legally Blonde world has stood the test of time.”
Kinney had a front row seat to Witherspoon’s devotion to the project.
“It is so untouchable and iconic that she definitely wanted to make sure that this is in line with the movie. It totally is visually and Lexi — who has become one of my dearest best friends — is such a perfect Elle Woods,” she continued. “When you tune into the movies, you get the laughs, you get the heartfelt moments and you’ll get all of that in the show and more.”
She added: “With this medium of TV, you’re able to kind of dive deeper into all of these characters and into the world. It’s just an awesome opportunity to celebrate the Legally Blonde universe and expand. It’s always a fun opportunity to dive deeper into the world.”
Elle premieres on Prime Video on July 1.
