Rachel McAdams reveals why she skipped the ‘Mean Girls’ Walmart ad

Earlier this year, original Mean Girls cast members Lindsay Lohan, Lacey Chabert, and Amanda Seyfried reunited for a Walmart Black Friday commercial — but one key member of the Plastics was notably missing. Now, Rachel McAdams is revealing why Regina George skipped the North Shore High School reunion.

In a new interview with Variety, McAdams explained that she has historically said no to doing commercials, and when she was first approached about the Walmart ad, she didn’t know her costars had said yes.

“I don’t know; I guess I wasn’t that excited about doing a commercial if I’m being totally honest,” McAdams told Variety. “A movie sounded awesome, but I’ve never done commercials, and it just didn’t feel like my bag. Also… I didn’t know that everyone was doing it. I would, of course, always love to be a part of a Mean Girls reunion and hang with my plastics, but yeah, I found that out later.”

The Walmart ad premiered this November, checking in with adult versions of Cady Heron (Lohan), Gretchen Wieners (Chabert), and Karen Smith (Seyfried). Original cast members Rajiv Surendra (who played Kevin Gnapoor) and Daniel Franzese (Damian) also make appearances, alongside singer Missy Elliott.

McAdams also addressed rumors that she might be making a cameo in the upcoming Mean Girls movie, adapted from the Broadway musical. The actress explained that she and writer Tina Fey tried to make something work, but ultimately, her Regina won’t make an appearance in the new movie. (Instead, Renée Rap plays the new Regina in the film.)

“Tina and I sort of dabbled with a few ideas, but it was tough to make it all work in the end,” McAdams explained. “I was really down for whatever she wanted to do. I think the direction it went in will be fantastic and I cannot wait to see it.”

For more on the new Mean Girls movie musical, read EW’s cover story here.

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