‘Freaky Friday' director reveals he wasn't invited back for sequel: ‘I did raise my hand'
Mark Waters, who directed the 2003 film 'Freaky Friday' starring Lindsay Lohan and Jamie Lee Curtis, has revealed that he was never even approached to return for this year's sequel.
10 Mark Waters attends the Netflix premiere of 'He's All That' at the NeueHouse in Hollywood, California, on August 25, 2021.
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10 Mark Waters and Lindsay Lohan behind the scenes of 2003's 'Freaky Friday.'
©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
'Yeah, unfortunately, I was not invited to the party,' Waters, 61, told Variety of the sequel in an interview published Friday, Aug. 15. 'I did raise my hand and say I'd love to be involved somehow, even in a kind of godfather aspect or executive producer.'
'But I was not extended an invitation,' he added.
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Despite directing Lohan, 39, and Curtis, 66, in the 2003 'Freaky Friday' remake, the director role ultimately went to Nisha Ganatra when 'Freakier Friday' began production in 2024.
10 Mark Waters attends the special screening of 'Mother of the Bride' at the Bay Theater in Pacific Palisades, California, on May 8, 2024.
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10 Mark Waters and Jamie Lee Curtis behind the scenes of 2003's 'Freaky Friday.'
©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
However, the 'Mean Girls' director was not disappointed about not being asked to return, and he even supported Lohan, Curtis and the other cast members who returned for the sequel after more than 20 years.
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'I'm very supportive of them making a great new movie,' he told the outlet. 'It would have been nice to be involved, but now that I'm not, I sort of compartmentalize it for myself.'
'I need to devote my energy to keep making new, original things that are going to be hits, and people can remake them in 20 years,' Waters continued. 'So that's what I'm doing now. You can't worry about the projects that you don't do.'
10 Jamie Lee Curtis as Tess Coleman and Lindsay Lohan as Anna Coleman in 2003's 'Freaky Friday.'
©Buena Vista Pictures/Courtesy Everett Collection
10 Jamie Lee Curtis as Tess Coleman and Lindsay Lohan as Anna Coleman in 'Freakier Friday.'
©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
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The 'Mr. Popper's Penguins' director also revealed that some members of the cast wondered where he was when the sequel began filming.
'It certainly would have been fun, and I heard from quite a few cast members while they were shooting, saying, 'Where the hell are you, Waters?'' he shared. 'I have not forsaken you! I'm sorry.'
Picking up 22 years after Anna Coleman (Lohan) and her mother Tess (Curtis) magically swapped bodies in 'Freaky Friday,' 'Freakier Friday' follows Anna and Tess after they swap bodies once again – but this time with Anna's daughter Harper (Julia Butters) and soon-to-be stepdaughter Lily (Sophia Hammons).
10 Jamie Lee Curtis as Tess Coleman and Lindsay Lohan as Anna Coleman in 'Freaky Friday' (2003).
©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
10 Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan reprising their roles as Tess and Anna Coleman in 'Freakier Friday' (2025).
©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
The cast is rounded out by several returning characters, including Anna's ex-boyfriend Jake (Chad Michael Murray), teacher Mr. Elton (Stephen Tobolowsky) and Anna's little brother Harry (Ryan Malgarini).
After the body-swapping sequel's release on Aug. 8, it received mixed reviews – including a particularly 'harsh' write-up from Time magazine.
'No one, as far as we know, actually asked Disney for a sequel to 2003's buoyant, surprisingly unsyrupy generation-gap comedy 'Freaky Friday,'' the outlet wrote.
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10 Chad Michael Murray as Jake and Lindsay Lohan as Anna in 'Freaky Friday.'
©Walt Disney Co./Courtesy Everett Collection
10 Chad Michael Murray, Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan during the premiere of 'Freakier Friday' at the Hudson Square Theater in New York City.
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'This is a sequel with the sole purpose of cashing in on the fondness people have for the original movie and nothing more,' it added.
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Curtis later took to the comments section of the review to defend her and Lohan's new movie.
'SEEMS a TAD HARSH,' the 'Everything Everywhere All at Once' Oscar winner wrote. 'SOME people LOVE it. Me being one.'
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