Freaky Friday 2 Finds A Director As Negotiations For Original Stars To Return Continues

Freaky Friday 2 has found a director while circling its key returning stars. The movie will be a sequel to the 2003 Mark Waters movie, which was the third adaptation of the 1972 Mary Rodgers novel of the same name. The movie followed psychiatrist Tess Coleman (Jamie Lee Curtis) and her surly teenage daughter Anna (Jamie Lee Curtis) having their bodies swapped by a magic fortune cookie and being forced to walk a mile in each other’s shoes while navigating love, school, work, and their relationship with one another.

Per The Hollywood Reporter, Emmy-nominated director Nisha Ganatra (Welcome to Chippendales, Chutney Popcorn, Late Night) has been tapped to direct the upcoming Freaky Friday 2. Additionally, both Curtis and Lohan are in talks to reprise their roles in the movie, which is set to shoot this summer. Jamie Lee Curtis also shared a post on Instagram seemingly confirming the news. Check it out below:

Along with an archive photo of a previous reunion with Lohan, Curtis shared the caption “DUH! FFDEUX!” in addition to tagging Walt Disney Studios.

Freaky Friday 2 Is Breaking A Huge Precedent

No Freaky Friday Adaptation Has Received A Sequel

The news that the Freaky Friday sequel is making progress isn’t necessarily a surprise, given how often the property has been adapted in the past. The 2003 movie was preceded by a 1976 adaptation starring Jodie Foster and Barbara Harris as well as a 1995 TV movie starring Shelley Long and Gaby Hoffmann. It also wasn’t the final adaptation, as it was followed by a 2018 Disney Channel musical starring Heidi Blickenstaff and Cozi Zuehlsdorff, adapting the stage musical based on the book.

There has also been a wide variety of body swap movies that came out in the wake of the original movie including 1987’s Like Father Like Son, 2011’s The Change-Up, and more contemporary titles like 2020’s Freaky, and the 2023 duo of the horror movie Suitable Flesh and the Netflix comedy Family Switch. However, despite a whole host of adaptations and inspired works, this is the first time that a Freaky Friday-derived movie has received a sequel. Now that the movie is no longer beholden to adapting the original story in any way, it can carve its own unique path.

It seems likely that, should Lohan and Curtis return, the Freaky Friday 2 story would follow Anna and Tess swapping bodies yet again rather than make good on the tease that Tess’ father would potentially swap bodies with her son. However, it remains to be seen if the new story follows the same beats, with the swap being resolved by their growing understanding of one another. The movie could potentially add new wrinkles to the premise that make this latest adventure even more complicated for the duo, especially if they’ve already learned their previous lesson.