Reese Witherspoon Doesn't Want Legally Blonde 3 Without Jennifer Coolidge

Who would you most want to travel with out of the cast of "The White Lotus?" Back when season 2 was airing, that question was posed to various actors from the hit HBO show during the behind-the-scenes previews for the next week's episode. The answer was always, without hesitation, Jennifer Coolidge. After winning a Golden Globe for Best Performance by an Actress in a Supporting Role in a Limited Series/Anthology or Motion Picture for her role as Tanya in "White Lotus" season 2, her moving and hilarious speech made Coolidge even more endearing. Season 3 of "White Lotus" was officially announced in November of 2022, but sadly, Coolidge won't be returning. That leaves the door open for the in-demand actor to pursue other opportunities as she enjoys her ongoing surge in popularity.

Created in record time when HBO desperately needed new material during the pandemic, Mike White's "The White Lotus" came together incredibly fast and miraculously became a cultural phenomenon right out of the gate. Other projects weren't so lucky during the COVID-19 crisis, including the long-awaited "Legally Blonde 3" that was originally set to premiere last February. Written by Mindy Kaling and Dan Goor ("Brooklyn Nine-Nine"), the threequel will catch up with the peppy Elle Woods later on in life, years after she unexpectedly earned her way into Harvard Law School.

In an interview with Entertainment Tonight, "Legally Blonde" star Reese Witherspoon stated emphatically, "There is no 'Legally Blonde 3' without Jennifer Coolidge." In the original and its sequel, "Legally Blonde 2" Red, White, and Blonde," Coolidge played Paulette Bonafonté, a manicurist with a heart of gold who takes Elle Woods under her wing.

The perfect time for a legacy sequel

Now that "The White Lotus" has catapulted Jennifer Coolidge to a new echelon of her career, the combination of her rising star power with Reese Witherspoon's celebrity status should drum up even more excitement for the legacy sequel. It feels as though "Legally Blonde 3" will end up happening sooner rather than later, but for now, Witherspoon is just happy to see Coolidge receive so many accolades after her electrifying performance as the lovable elitist socialite, Tanya Mcquoid. Here's what Witherspoon told ET:

"She deserves every one of those flowers she is receiving right now. And she's just one of those people who is so naturally gifted and funny and that you can just tell people love her, 'cause she gets up there and everybody's like, 'I love her,' but she's just done a lot of good work in our business for so long, that it's really nice to see her getting this incredible moment."

Progress on "Legally Blonde 3" has been pretty stop-and-go so far, but you can rest assured that Witherspoon and her production company, Hello Sunshine, won't move forward until the timing is right. Set 20 years after "Red, White, and Blonde," the sequel film has also benefitted from the success of "Top Gun: Maverick," which has become the textbook example of how to re-introduce a beloved character. Witherspoon told USA Today the Tom Cruise sequel could work as the perfect blueprint:

"They waited a long time to make another version of that movie, and I loved the nostalgia piece they incorporated in it. So definitely that gave us a lot of inspiration about what we would want to do with Elle Woods and make sure that we had all those same touchstones that mattered to people then."