Romy and Michele Are Back: Kudrow and Sorvino Tease Sequel at D23
Lisa Kudrow and Mira Sorvino walked onto the D23 stage on Friday night in matching white outfits, speaking in Valley girl accents, to tease the sequel to Romy and Michele's High School Reunion. Kudrow, in character, told the crowd: "We're officially Disney princesses" (The Hollywood Reporter).
The original film opened in theatres in 1997. The sequel will not follow that path: it will stream exclusively as a Hulu Original on both Hulu and Disney+, a shift that reflects how Disney, which owns 20th Century Studios, routes its films across its own platforms rather than to cinema screens. Robin Schiff, who wrote the 1997 screenplay, also wrote the sequel. David Mirkin directed the original.
20th Century Studios confirmed in June that the sequel was "now in production," with both Kudrow and Sorvino returning to reprise their roles (KTLA). Kudrow had signalled momentum earlier, telling Watch What Happens Live With Andy Cohen that there was "a really funny script" and that things were moving forward.
Several original cast members return alongside the leads: Janeane Garofalo as Heather, Alan Cumming as Sandy Frink, Camryn Manheim as Toby, and Julia Campbell as Christie. New faces joining the sequel include Keegan-Michael Key, Rob Huebel, Breckin Meyer, Patrick Warburton, and Nathan Lee Graham (The Hollywood Reporter).
In the sequel, Romy and Michele still own a boutique in Beverly Hills and are now looking for love — a setup that picks up the characters' story nearly three decades after the original, without sending them back to a high school reunion. The 1997 film, a modest theatrical release that found its enduring audience on home video and television, turned the two leads into cult-comedy icons.
Sequel talk first heated up after Sorvino and Kudrow reunited to present at the SAG Awards in 2022, a moment that reminded audiences — and, evidently, the studios — of the pair's comic chemistry. Four years on, that reunion has become a real project, now filming and headed for streaming.
For fans, the D23 appearance was the first time the sequel had been teased in a public setting with both stars in character, and the return of so much of the original cast suggests the filmmakers are leaning into what made the first film resonate rather than starting fresh.
