Reese Witherspoon is officially working on 'Legally Blonde 3'

Legally Blonde was one of the biggest comedies of 2001 (yes, 2001, you're old). Reese Witherspoon played Elle Woods, an idealistic, girly sorority girl who goes to Harvard to become a lawyer. At first, the bubbly SoCal bombshell struggles to connect with the snooty East Coast elites. But by the end of the film, she's proven her brilliance as an attorney, and taught others an essential technique to captivate boys: Bend and snap. (Never forget.)

In 2003, Reese returned for the sequel, Legally Blonde 2: Red, White & Blonde. In this film, Elle goes to Washington, D.C. to work for a congresswoman, and fights to pass a bill banning makeup testing on animals. (Which, sadly, is a real thing and still happens today.) The movie was a success, but the franchise didn't continue - on the big screen, anyway. In 2007, the stage musical premiered, and still tours today. And in 2009, there was a direct-to-DVD spinoff called Legally Blondes, about "Elle Wood's British twin cousins."

Now, 17 years after the original film, Reese Witherspoon is in talks to return to the franchise. Deadline reports that Reese is close to a deal to reprise her role as the effervescent Elle Woods. MGM, who produced the first two movies, is "in final talks" to bring back the original screenwriters Kirsten “Kiwi” Smith and Karen McCullah, who adapted the first movie from the Amanda Brown novel. Original producer Marc Platt will be returning as well.

But what will 'Legally Blonde 3' be about? Unfortunately, the plot is still under wraps  - probably bright pink wraps, with glitter and ribbons and bows. But according to the Deadline reporter, the three-quel "will be much in the spirit of the first film... The intention here is to make this more about female empowerment, a message that hits at a fortuitous time in the culture." Does that mean we'll see Elle Woods attend the Women's March, run for President or represent sexual harassment victims in court? Time will tell.

Last March, Reese Witherspoon appeared on The Late Late Show, and might have dropped a hint about the plot. James Corden asked if she'd ever return for a Legally Blonde 3, and Reese said, "I think it would be kind of cool to see her, 15 years later," Reese said. "Like, what's she doing now? ... But I need a good idea." Corden suggested that Elle could be president, and Reese agreed, "She could. She could be a Supreme Court justice or she could be like a really great, powerful attorney or she could be in prison. She could be anything!"

Okay, now I hope that whatever the movie is about, there's a scene where Elle Woods goes to prison. It would be funny to see her critique those orange jumpsuits, and interact with tough inmates.

In recent years, we've seen other comedy sequels come out after a long break: Dumb and Dumber To, Anchorman 2, Zoolander 2. They received mixed reviews, but maybe Legally Blonde 3 will fare better. Just bend and snap!