Third Attempt at Cruel Intentions Series Gets Warning from Ryan Phillippe

It’s hard to believe that 25 years have passed since actor Ryan Phillippe’s character, Sebastian, and Kathryn (Sarah Michelle Gellar) took out their Cruel Intentions on the young and virtuous Annette (Reese Witherspoon). For fans who haven’t seen the film, and without giving away any spoilers, the cult classic’s storytelling was compelling enough to warrant a streaming series, which is headed to Prime Video. This marks the third time a Cruel Intentions show has been attempted. And Phillippe warns the cast and crew, with a bit of wisdom and advice, to not take making the program all that seriously. Phillippe said in an exclusive interview with MovieWeb:

“My only advice is, I think when you watch Cruel Intentions, you can see how much fun we were having in making it. And so, I think that would be my advice to them, is to not take it so seriously and try to have a good time because that does show up on-screen.”

Several of Phillippe’s other projects, like the original I Know What You Did Last Summer, which is loosely based on the young adult novel by Lois Duncan, and the Oscar-winning Crash also found their way onto the small screen, as will Cruel Intentions. Phillippe commented on many of his film projects being adapted for television and streaming during the same sit-down. Phillippe said:

And fans surely won’t forget Phillippe’s performance as the murderous bad boy, Louis Roulet, in 2011’s Matthew McConaughey-led crime thriller, The Lincoln Lawyer. Based on the books by author Michael Connelly, a Netflix series also titled The Lincoln Lawyer dropped in 2022.

25 Years of Being Oh-So Cruel

Ryan Phillippe doesn’t want his kids watching Cruel Intentions, because of the way his character treated the actor’s real-life ex-wife, Reese Witherspoon, in the movie. Regardless of the subject matter, the film still became a cult classic, and there was even a prequel series developed under the title Manchester Prep. The show was cancelled before it aired, but the episodes that had already been shot were cannibalized into what eventually became 2001’s Cruel Intentions 2.

Cruel Intentions 3 followed in 2004, and there was even an off-Broadway jukebox musical in 2015. And another attempt at a TV series was attempted in 2016, with Sarah Michelle Gellar attached. However, it never came to fruition. But it all began with the original in 1999, which celebrated its 25th anniversary on March 5. And Phillippe commented on the movie’s milestone in the same interview:

“I’m well aware of the age that I am. My kids keep me young, but there are these times where these anniversaries come up, and you’re just like, ‘Oh my god!’ I’ve just been around so long. But at the same time, the fact that people still appreciate something like
Cruel Intentions
, or
I Know What You Did Last Summer
for so long.”

Phillippe continued:

“When I started out as a young actor, my hopes and dreams, in a lot of ways, were tied to having something that lasts, having something that makes that much of an impression. And to be more specific, being in a seminal teen movie was something, in the early part of my career, that mattered to me, the John Hughes movies when I was growing up. And Cruel Intentions still holds up. If you watch it today, it’s sharp, funny. It doesn’t feel dated.”

It’s also worth noting that Sarah Michelle Gellar has officially gone on record to say she won’t be involved in Prime Video’s Cruel Intentions. And, at the time of this writing, an official release date for the Cruel Intentions series has not been announced.