It’s a bittersweet symphony.
The hit 1999 movie “Cruel Intentions” is back, with a reboot of the same name.
Premiering Thursday, Nov. 21, on Prime Video, “Cruel Intentions” is set in the world of fraternities and sororities at the fictional Manchester College in Washington, DC.
“I was very excited to hear that [a reboot] was happening at all, whether I was going to be involved or not, because it’s an amazing world that this story is set in,” Sean Patrick Thomas, 53, told The Post.
Thomas appeared in the “Cruel Intentions” movie, and he’s the only original cast member who is also in the show — albeit in a different role.
“I had no clue whatsoever that [the movie] was going to be received the way that it was,” he recalled. “I knew that it was going to be good, because the script was so good and because my castmates were so incredible … but that it would have this type of staying power, I had no idea.”
But, Thomas said, after the movie came out and made more than $70 million on a $10 million budget and became a cult classic, he understood why it was a hit.
“It was something that people enjoyed not just because it was bad people behaving badly, but because we created a whole world that people hadn’t really seen before on film — with young people acting like adults, with adult money and adult situations,” he continued. “There was something about that — for that time — that was very fresh and new.”
The show and movie are both modern retellings of the 1782 novel “Les Liaisons Dangereuses.”
The show’s college setting is a change from the movie, which was set in New York City among wealthy high schoolers.
In the movie, the manipulative Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) schemes with her stepbrother, Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe), to seduce Annette (Reese Witherspoon), their headmaster’s innocent and morally principled daughter. Kathryn also schemes against Cecile Caldwell (Selma Blair), who has a forbidden flirtation with her music teacher, Ronald (Thomas).
In the show, Thomas plays a different character, Professor Hank Chadwick.
The show follows ruthless stepsiblings Caroline Merteuil (Sarah Catherine Hook) and Lucien Belmont (Zac Burgess) who have a scheme for Lucien to seduce Annie Grover (Savannah Lee Smith), the daughter of the vice president of the United States who also attends their college.
Cece Carroway (Sara Silva) is Caroline’s right-hand woman, who also works closely with Professor Chadwick.
“I felt so lucky to be the one that gets to act with the veteran,” Silva told The Post, referring to Thomas.
“Because he’s bringing the legend with him. There was just a sense of trust and safety, because I knew he knows the world, and he’s such a varied and incredible actor.”
Thomas, who is also known for “Save the Last Dance,” liked playing both Ronald in the movie and Professor Chadwick in the show.
“This character is so much more complex in the sense of like he’s more mature. He’s more seasoned. He’s not as innocent and naive as Ronald was in the film,” he told The Post. “But at the same time, I love the fact that Ronald was so innocent, and he was being acted upon by all these malevolent forces.”
Despite returning to the “Cruel Intentions” world, Thomas hasn’t talked much to his former castmates.
“I’ve seen them over the years, I’ve seen Sarah [Michelle Gellar], I’ve seen Selma [Blair]. So, I’ve seen them and talked to them, but I haven’t seen them since we finished this [show],” he said.
“So I’m very curious about what they think. And I hope they watch it.”
article credit
