'Cruel Intentions' Show Cast Got 'Strict Instructions' Not to Copy OG Movie

The cast of Prime Video’s Cruel Intentions show didn’t do as much research into the movie as expected.

The stars spoke exclusively with Us Weekly at both the press junket and the Tuesday, November 19, red carpet premiere about why their individual performances weren’t influenced by the 1999 Cruel Intentions film.

“We got pretty strict instructions which were, ‘Do not copy the original.’ And I had not seen the original at that point and I think for me — if I was to watch it — I’d be unconsciously influenced,” Zac Burgess, who plays Lucien in the upcoming series, noted.

Burgess took on a role originated by Ryan Phillippe, which he has yet to watch.

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“I sit in a bit of a unique position. I haven’t seen the movie. So I was a little bit fortunate that it was more of a purposeful choice,” he explained. “I didn’t want to replicate Ryan’s performance because it is a cult classic, and he did such a wonderful job the first time. It’s a new chapter to the series.”

Savannah Lee Smith had a similar experience since she “wasn’t familiar” with Cruel Intentions before being cast as Annie.

“I was maybe 2 or 3 years old when the movie came out. But I’m aware of how much of a classic it is,” the actress, who plays a version of Reese Witherspoon‘s character, told Us. “I remember in the breakdown for my audition, our showrunners Sara [Goodman] and Phoebe [Fisher] specifically said, ‘Do not replicate!’ So of course, I was dying to watch the movie, but I held off because I did not want to replicate anything.”

Smith had the freedom to build Annie into her own character, adding, “Annie’s different because she’s young and maybe a little bit naive sometimes. But she’s smart and I think that the difference here is that you can see Annie clocking what’s going on. She sees the schemes and she sees the games people are trying to play. During season 1, you see her trying to put those pieces of the puzzle together.”

While the TV adaptation “separates” Annie from Witherspoon’s Annette, there are still common threads between the characters.

“The main similarity is innocence. The innocence and the newness of the environment that it’s the same way for Annie. She’s thrust into this world of the rich and power hungry group and she’s trying to find her place in that,” Smith teased. “But Sara and Phoebe wanted to really reimagine and a new chapter in the Cruel Intentions universe. So they made a space for me to play and experiment, and we kind of birthed Annie together.”

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Cruel Intentions is a modern retelling of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos‘ novel Les Liaisons Dangereuses. A film version was released in 1999 and subsequently became a cult classic. Plans for a TV adaptation of the film started in 1999, which ultimately became the 2000 sequel Cruel Intentions 2. There was another attempt in 2015 with a pilot — with Gellar, 47, reprising her role — that was never picked up before Prime Video announced their Cruel Intentions series.

Hook, 29, who brought Caroline to life, didn’t have the ability to avoid thinking of Gellar’s performance because she was already a fan of the movie.

“I was really discouraged to do anything Sarah Michelle Gellar did. But of course, I think her gorgeous performance was just running rampant in my brain and I couldn’t avoid it,” Hook admitted to Us. “But honestly, I tried more to pull from the regalness of Glenn Close in Dangerous Liasons. So I think I leaned a little bit more in her direction — mostly because I was told not to go Sarah Michelle Gellar, and we didn’t want to copy her already iconic performance.”

Fans will definitely feel a difference between Caroline and Gellar’s character, Kathryn.

“Sarah Michelle Gellar is so good at just delivering such biting lines, and her delivery is so cutthroat whereas I think mine had a more relaxed energy. She’s more bored and a quiet observer,” Hook hinted. “There’s more of a quietness to Caroline than there was with Sarah Michelle Gellar and ultimately that’s where we were trying to find a new, different version.”

Before Cruel Intentions’ release on Thursday, November 21, Hook made it clear that there’s “no pressure” for Gellar to reach out with her thoughts on the show.

“I really love her and have always loved her. I feel like I kind of have a weird connection with her. I did a vampire show [First Kill] and everyone compared it to Buffy [the Vampire Slayer] and I’m like, ‘Oh that’s so cool,'” Hook continued. “It feels like there’s something brewing there. Like I said, I don’t really expect anything but I think she’s f—ing amazing and just like the queen of all queens.”

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Sara Silva, who created her own version of Selma Blair‘s character Cecile, pointed out to Us how the writing allowed for the show to differ significantly from the movie.

“It’s just a completely different direction. I think the essence is definitely there. My CeCe is very intelligent, but she doesn’t pick up on social cues, so there’s still that naivety,” Silva explained. “She’s really running the sorority, so one of the big differences is CeCe is very smart but still just kind of odd, which I think is more like the original.”

Prime Video’s adaptation isn’t exactly the same — but that doesn’t mean there’s no connection to the movie. Sean Patrick Thomas plays another teacher, Professor Caldwell, after originally playing music tutor Ronald Cifford in the 1999 film.

“I feel like the character is much more savvy, a little less naive. It’s not the same character. The way this character’s written — he’s more on top of things than his opponent was in the movie,” Thomas told Us. “These kids are really on the ball in terms of how quick they think and how quick they act. It’s a little bit more like a hyper-spin than it was the first one, at least to me.”

Us spoke with the creative time as well about their vision for the show.

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“Part of the fun of getting to take on this project is getting the opportunity to expand on all of these characters and all of these dynamics that we’ve set up in the pilot while still paying homage to the original source material,” Fisher said before Goodman added, “We didn’t want to alienate fans of the movie. We’re fans of the movie so we definitely wanted to keep the tone and those little references that we all love.”

Goodman continued: “At the same time, that doesn’t sustain a series. So we created different characters, triangles and dynamics that we felt like were still in keeping with the ruthlessness and the sexiness and the humor and the taboo. Who knows who’s going to do what next? So I think we wanted to keep all of that juicy deliciousness and make it into its own series that we all really want to watch.”

Cruel Intentions premieres on Prime Video Thursday, November 21.

With reporting by Lanae Brody