Elle Woods apparently had excellent taste before Harvard, before the pink courtroom looks, and before she taught everyone that underestimating a blonde was a full-time bad idea. The new Legally Blonde prequel Elle, which also stars The Bold and the Beautiful alum Lisa Yamada, gives young Elle and her mom a shared obsession with Days of Our Lives. Even better, the story drops them right into Marlena Evans’ devil possession era, which is exactly the kind of daytime chaos that builds character.
Key Takeaways
- The Legally Blonde prequel Elle includes young Elle Woods watching DAYS.
- Elle and her mom are obsessed with Marlena’s devil possession story.
- The pilot uses actual DAYS footage from Marlena’s possession era.
- Caroline Dries said she wanted viewers to know what possessed Marlena looked like.
- Laura Kittrell said soaps were a major part of the 1990s pop culture.
Elle Loved Her Soaps
Elle co-showrunners Caroline Dries and Laura Kittrell spoke to People about bringing DAYS into the prequel. Dries said, “I really needed America to know what Marlena possessed looked like.” That is fair, since no one should enter adulthood without at least once seeing Marlena Evans (Deidre Hall) levitating through Salem.
Kittrell explained that Elle already had a soap connection in the 2001 movie, so the prequel needed to honor that part of her. Since the show begins in 1995, Marlena’s possession was sitting right there.
Kittrell also pointed out that soap operas meant something very different then. They were part of daily life in a way younger viewers today may not fully understand. Marlena’s possession was not some tiny sidebar for Salem loyalists. It was the kind of thing people talked about at lunch.
READ THIS: Find out who’s about to face the consequences in Salem.
Marlena Still Had the Power
The pilot includes actual DAYS footage of Marlena’s possession, which gave the cast a better sense of what the writers were describing. That’s important, since “Marlena was possessed by the devil” can sound ridiculous until the footage starts. Then, suddenly, everyone understands the assignment.
The prequel itself came from Reese Witherspoon, with executive producer Lauren Neustadter saying, “I mean, this whole show was her idea.” Witherspoon also pushed for an open casting call for young Elle, which led them to Lexi Minetree. Neustadter said, “Lexi was just exceptional from the start.”
That brings the whole thing back to DAYS in a funny way. Elle Woods watching Marlena battle the devil feels strange, then makes complete sense. Of course Elle loved a soap heroine trapped in the wildest possible trial of her life. Courtroom, crypt, possession, pink wardrobe. Different rooms, same energy.
