Rachael Leigh Cook Indicates Sequel to Iconic Teen Comedy Unlikely to Materialize

Rachael Leigh Cook has no plans to reprise her role as Josie anytime soon.

In a recent interview, the actress candidly discussed the unexpected turn of events surrounding the 2001 comedy Josie and the Pussycats, a film that initially struggled at the box office but has since garnered a devoted fan base. Cook shared her thoughts on the renewed appreciation for the movie and addressed the chances of a reboot or sequel ever coming to fruition.

Rachael Leigh Cook is happy to see that ‘Josie and The Pussycats’ is ‘getting its flowers’

“People are rediscovering that movie after it being considered an absolute box-office flop and only getting its flowers as it were in the last couple of years, maybe the last decade or so,” Cook told People.

“I’m just glad that this very deserving movie ultimately found an audience,” she added. 

Based on the Archie Comics and associated animated TV series, Josie and The Pussycats starred Cook, Tara Reid, and Rosario Dawson as the members of an all-girl rock group. After they’re discovered by a major label record executive (The Traitors host Alan Cumming), Josie (Cook) and her bandmates are rocketed to fame. But they eventually discover that they’re being used as pawns in a vast corporate conspiracy. The movie also features Parker Posey and Gabriel Mann. Donald Faison, Seth Green, Breckin Meyer, and Alexander Martin play members of the boy band DuJour.

‘She’s All That’ star is ‘proud’ of cult-favorite comedy

While Cook is happy that Josie and The Pussycats is still delighting viewers more than 25 years after it was released, she threw cold water on the idea of a reboot or a sequel. 

 “I don’t think I would need to touch it myself,” she said. “I’m proud of what we made. Maybe if they did some time traveling, maybe there’s something that could be weird and interesting.”

“I do not think that there’s any talk of anything like that,” she added. “It took long enough for people to get it the first time. We’re not gonna push our luck, I don’t think.”

Alan Cumming says ‘Josie and The Pussycats’ was ‘ahead of its time’

Cook isn’t the only Josie and The Pussycats cast member to look back on the movie fondly. Earlier this year, Cumming told InStyle that Josie was “very much ahead of its time” and that it’s only years later that it “found its audience and people really appreciate it and are obsessed with it.”

He blames the film’s initial failure on its marketing. 

“My strongest memory and feeling about Josie and the Pussycats is that it was a marketing disaster,” he said. “It was totally marketed to the wrong audience. It was marketed to tweens. It’s a very adult film.”

“It’s a fun comedy, but it’s got this underlying message that I don’t think was appropriate or appreciated by the audience that it was targeted to,” he added.

Stream Josie and The Pussycats on Prime Video.

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