Sarah Michelle Gellar Will Return For Cruel Intentions TV Show

When NBC announced last year that they were ordering a pilot for a "sequel" series to the 1999 hit film Cruel Intentions, many fans wondered who would return from the original cast. Yesterday, The Hollywood Reporter announced that Sarah Michelle Gellar will be back for the show, reprising her role of Kathryn Merteuil. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the series will largely focus on a cast of new teenage characters, but Gellar's Merteuil will play an important role:

NBC's Cruel Intentions picks up more than 15 years after the 1999 movie left off. The drama follows the beautiful and cunning Kathryn Merteuil (Gellar) as she vies for control of Valmont International as well as the soul of Bash Casey (Taylor John Smith), son of her brother, the late Sebastian Valmont, and Annette Hargrove. Upon discovering his late father€™s legacy in a hidden journal, Bash is introduced to a world of sex, money, power and corruption he never could have imagined. Sophinia Brown will co-star.

The original film, an updated adaptation of the French novel series Les Liasons dangereuses, starred Gellar, Ryan Phillippe, Reese Witherspoon, and Selma Blair as students in a private high school in New York City. The film received mixed reviews, but supporters praised its frank depiction of teenage sexuality. It turned a considerable profit at the box office, making $75.9 million on a $10.5 million budget. ICruel Intentions film director/screenwriter Roger Kumble will direct and co-write the pilot.