When Disney’s Freakier Friday hit theaters this summer, audiences flocked to see Jamie Lee Curtis and Lindsay Lohan reunite more than two decades after the original body-swap comedy became a cultural touchstone. The sequel, directed by Nisha Ganatra and written by Jordan Weiss, delighted fans with fresh twists while bringing back familiar faces like Chad Michael Murray and Stephen Tobolowsky. Even Ryan Malgarini, who had retired from acting, stepped in once more to play Curtis’ son.
But one person noticeably absent was Mark Waters—the director who gave Freaky Friday its 2003 glow-up and helped turn it into the modern classic fans still quote today.
Waters isn’t bitter, though he admits he did raise his hand to be part of the new film. “I thought maybe I could be involved in some way—an executive producer role, even just a kind of godfather figure,” he says. “It would have been nice to be there, but I wasn’t invited.”
For Waters, the original movie wasn’t just a project. It was a career-defining moment. After his indie debut The House of Yes earned critical praise but his follow-up film fizzled, Waters feared he was heading into “movie jail.” Then came Disney’s call. The script wasn’t working, but Waters had a vision: a daughter who was a rebellious guitarist, not a shy school reporter, and a mother who had to step onto the same stage with her. That spark turned into one of Disney’s biggest live-action hits of the early 2000s.
The film also launched Lohan’s stardom and gave Waters momentum to direct Mean Girls, cementing his status in the comedy world. “That test screening of Freaky Friday was unforgettable,” he recalls. “The audience gave it a 93, people stood and applauded. That’s when we knew we had something special.”
Waters looks back on the film with affection, particularly for the performances that continue to resonate. He remembers watching Jamie Lee Curtis win her long-overdue Oscar in 2023 and thinking, this is really for Freaky Friday too.
The director isn’t blind to criticisms the movie has faced over the years, including its caricatured use of Asian stereotypes. “I always knew it was absurd and over the top, but never meant to be cruel,” he says. “At the time, we thought of it as playful. Looking back, I can see why some people saw it differently.”
Today, Waters is focused on new projects, including Hershey, a biopic starring Finn Wittrock and Alexandra Daddario. Still, he hasn’t ruled out working with Lohan again. “We reconnected recently in New York and talked about how fun it would be to do something together again,” he shares.
As for not being part of Freakier Friday, Waters chooses to see the bigger picture. “I’m proud of what we created. The fact that people still care enough to make a sequel 21 years later says it all. Now I’m focused on making the next thing that, who knows, maybe someone will want to remake in 20 years.”
In Hollywood, Fridays may come and go—but for Mark Waters, Freaky Friday will always be the one that changed everything.
