Clueless director doesn’t want iconic 90s rom-com ‘updated to this world’

Clueless, starring Alicia Silverstone, was released 30 years ago this year (Picture: Paramount) The director of Clueless has no plans to bring Cher Horowitz and co back for a film sequel in the present day, so we can all stop totally bugging now. The iconic rom-com was a loose adaptation of Jane Austen’s Emma and premiered in July, 1995, with Alicia Silverstone leading the star-studded cast alongside Paul Rudd, Stacey Dash, Donald Faison and Brittany Murphy. Despite being released nearly 30 years ago, the flick has remained as popular as ever – with Clueless the Musical hitting the West End earlier this month, starring Emma Flynn. The musical adaptation, with a soundtrack by KT Tunstall, is currently playing at the Trafalgar Theatre in London with tickets on sale now. Speaking to Metro, original filmmaker Amy Heckerling shared her thoughts on bringing the Beverly Hills teenager back to the spotlight. When asked if the musical could possibly lead to a reboot or a sequel to the 90s classic, she declared: ‘Well, now is not my favorite time. I wouldn’t want it to be updated to this world. The iconic rom-com has sparked a musical stage show in London (Picture: Getty) Paul Rudd starred as Cher’s ex step-brother (Picture: Paramount) ‘I would love a sweet character like that figuring out what to do about these times, but I don’t know what that is at the moment. I don’t see the humor in it [present day] yet.’ While we’re no closer to Alicia and Paul reprising their roles for another project, Amy did share her hopes that Clueless ‘can continue to live in many different forms’ going forward, suggesting a podcast or even a video game. Emma has stepped into Cher’s infamous yellow plaid suit for the stage show, while Chyna-Rose Frederick, Romona Lewis-Malley, Blake Jordan, Max Mirza, Rabi Konde and Isaac J Lewis play her classmates. Keelan McAuley rounds out the cast as Cher’s former step-brother turned love interest, Josh. Emma Flynn is playing Cher Horowitz in the West End musical (Picture: Matt Crockett) She truly made that yellow plaid suit her own (Picture: Matt Crockett) After making the movie a timeless success, she has played a huge part in Clueless the Musical coming to fruition in the UK. ‘It’s a very comfortable place for me,’ Amy said of the show. ‘I have more trouble in the real world than I do in the Clueless world. ‘I think [the musical] stays true to the spirit of the film. The actors that we have are wonderful. The girl playing Cher is just so talented, and her voice is amazing, she’s a great dancer and she’s funny. She’s everything we would have hoped for. ‘The guy playing Josh has got quite a follow thing, he’s a movie idol. He’s gorgeous, and he’s a great dancer. You can tell all these people are just in love with him.’ Cher’s best friend, Dionne, was played by Stacey Dash (Picture: Paramount) Clueless was based on Emma by Jane Austen (Picture: Paramount) With the movie remaining untouched for three decades, Amy conceded that there were certain moments she looked back on – while working on the musical – that didn’t quite age well in present day. ‘There were a couple of words in the film that I was like, “Oh, I wish I could go back and loop that or dub it, change the word with the actor saying it,”‘ she added. ‘The spirit of it, I don’t think, has aged at all. I mean, she’s based on a book that’s 210 years old. The character and the arc of how she learns, and finds love are fairly universal.’ Clueless, The Musical is playing at London’s Trafalgar Theatre until September 27 – tickets available now. Got a story? If you’ve got a celebrity story, video or pictures get in touch with the Metro.co.uk entertainment team by emailing us [email protected], calling 020 3615 2145 or by visiting our Submit Stuff page – we’d love to hear from you.