By Hanna Rantala
LONDON (Reuters) -Lindsay Lohan says she drew upon her own experiences of motherhood for “Freakier Friday”, the highly-anticipated sequel to her hit 2003 movie “Freaky Friday”.
Lohan, 39, welcomed her first child in 2023, a year before the Disney movie was filmed.
“It felt full circle for me, and also the timing was pretty impeccable considering that I’m a new mom and I was able to bring being a mom into the character,” Lohan said at the film’s London premiere on Thursday. “It’s the first time I’m able to do that on screen.”
“Freaky Friday”, with a reported budget of $26 million, was a surprise hit, making over $160 million worldwide and obtaining a cult following.
The 2025 follow-up sees Lohan and actress Jamie Lee Curtis reprising the roles of mother and daughter duo Tess and Anna Coleman. Twenty years on, Anna is a single parent to tomboy teen daughter Harper, played by Julia Butters.
Their relationship comes under stress when Anna falls for Eric (Manny Jacinto), the father of Harper’s new British classmate Lily (Sophia Hammons), and they decide to get married. The future stepsisters, with a mutual dislike for one another, decide to intervene.
While the 2003 film saw a body swap between Tess and Anna, things get “freakier” this time around with Tess and Anna switching bodies with Lily and Harper.
Before signing on to the sequel, Lohan ensured that Anna returned as a multi-faceted and relatable character.
“It was important to me that we explained who Anna is today and how she’s evolved and the dynamic between her and her daughter as she’s a single working mom. There are some basic points that I wanted to get across because I want people to see the movie and find a piece of it that they can grab onto and be like, ‘okay, I get that’,” she said.
Directed by Nisha Ganatra, the movie also sees actor Chad Michael Murray reprising the role of young Anna’s love interest, Jake.
Shooting the sequel was a “lovefest”, said Murray.
“It was the same, but better. It felt very much like connective tissue to the first movie. Everyone loved going to work and no one wanted to go home.”
“Freakier Friday” marks Lohan’s big screen return.
“It’s obviously nerve-wracking because you want it to be great and you want people to love what you do,” she said. “As long as people are enjoying what I’m doing and it’s making them happy, then I feel like I’m doing my job and that’s what I’m here to do.”
“Freakier Friday” begins its global cinematic rollout on August 6.
(Reporting by Hanna Rantala; Editing by Stephen Coates)
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