It’s been 16 years since Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan switched bodies after receiving cryptic fortune cookies at a Chinese restaurant, and while a lot has changed since then; Curtis has just starred in political thriller An Acceptable Loss, and Lohan is busy filming her MTV show Lindsay Lohan's Beach Club, Freaky Friday is still inspiring creators today.
The latest iteration is Little which sees Regina Hall (Girl’s Trip, The Hate U Give, Insecure) play a Miranda Priestly-style mean boss who treats everyone with disdain and disrespect, including her assistant who is played by Insecure creator Issa Rae.
After a run in with a little girl, Hall swaps bodies with Marsai Martin’s character and has to work with her assistant to get back to her own body and her real life.
Not only does 14-year-old Martin star in the film, the plot was all her idea. You might recognise her from hit sitcom Black-ish where she stars as the hilariously savage and endlessly memeable Diane alongside Tracee Ellis Ross and Yara Shahidi.
While on the Black-ish set one day four years ago a 10-year-old Martin had the idea for Little, and told Black-ish writer and producer Kenya Barris, who went on to produce the film. At 14-years-old Martin is listed as an executive producer on the film which comes out in the UK on April 12 2019 and also stars This Is Us heartthrob Justin Hartley.
Excitement is already mounting for the film, with the trailer circulating on Twitter and Martin’s Black-ish co-star Tracee Ellis Ross posting on Instagram;
‘YES, MS. MARSAI ~ here’s the trailer for her new film @littlethemovie with @morereginahall and @issarae! i’m so excited! and @marsaimartin will be the youngest executive producer of a major hollywood motion picture in history when the film hits theaters this spring'
Rumour has it that Marsai Martin started work on the film after firing an agent who suggested she ‘just chill and take a break’ when she had finished filming Black-ish. Whether or not that’s true, Marsai Martin is one to watch both as an actress and a producer this year.