Reese Witherspoon has officially entrusted her breakout role as Elle Woods from the beloved Legally Blonde movies to a new generation. Amazon MGM Studios and Witherspoon’s Hello Sunshine have cast rising star Lexi Minetree in the lead role of Prime Video’s Elle, a prequel series that will follow the iconic character during her high school years, long before she made her mark at Harvard Law School. The exciting news came directly from Witherspoon, who took to Instagram this morning to make the announcement. She captioned the post with:

“Allow me to introduce you to the new Elle Woods! After watching so many incredible auditions for the new Elle prequel series on @PrimeVideo, we finally found our Elle. And today, I got to break the news myself.”

In the video, Witherspoon is speaking to Minetree about the auditions before breaking the news to her and admiring her hard work. Minetree, clearly thrilled, is seen crying and wanting to call her mom. Witherspoon also speaks with Minetree’s mother about how they even sound alike.

“We had to make a really hard decision the other day and we wanted to tell you in person because you’ve just worked really hard. And we just wanted to tell you that you don’t have to audition anymore because you got the part. You’re Elle Woods.”

The official logline for Elle describes it as a series that “follows Elle Woods in high school as we learn about the life experiences that shaped her into the iconic young woman we came to know and love in the first ‘Legally Blonde’ film.” Fans will definitely get an inside look at where their favorite empowered character comes from, her social life, family dynamics, personal ambitions, and all that inspired her to pursue a career in law.

Lexi Minetree is a relative newcomer to the entertainment industry, but she’s poised for a breakout moment with her casting as young Elle Woods in the Legally Blonde prequel series. The actress only has a handful of credits to her name so far, including a one-off appearance on Law & Order: SUV and a supporting role as Bailey Swann in The Murdaugh Murders, which is a Tubi original series. With Elle, Minetree has a remarkable opportunity to showcase her talents on a much larger stage and maybe even launch herself into mainstream fame.

After all, Legally Blonde did the same for Reese Witherspoon. The original movie was a massive hit when it was released in 2001, grossing $142 million worldwide on an $18 million production budget. Witherspoon was just 23 years old when she starred in the movie, but she’d been acting since the age of 14, and it wasn’t until Legally Blonde that she came to be recognized as a top female star in Hollywood. The movie also received positive reviews from critics and its success led to a sequel, a spin-off, and even a Broadway musical. If the past is any indicator, Elle could give Minetree the same special moment.

Elle has significant creative forces attached to it. Laura Kittrell is the showrunner and executive producer alongside Caroline Dries. Under their Hello Sunshine banner, Witherspoon, Lauren Neustadter, and Lauren Kisilevsky will also serve as executive producers. While more casting details are yet to be revealed, Witherspoon’s involvement in the project ensures the character will be treated with the utmost care and attention.