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Will 2024 be the year the Cheetah Girls reunite?
In 2003 Disney Channel debuted a movie based on a girl group named the Cheetah Girls who each had aspirations to take over the music industry. Comprised of Adrienne Bailon-Houghton, Raven-Symoné, Kiely Williams and Sabrina Bryan, the group revolutionized Disney. In 2006 the sequel was officially released and they proved to be stronger than ever with themes of girl power and women empowerment.
It’s been over 15 years since the Cheetah Girls threequel debuted sans Raven. At the time, it sparked a lot of controversy not having all four of the original members on screen. Raven has since revealed that she didn’t return because of behind-the-scenes drama between she and co-star Williams in particular made her feel excluded. “The cliquish way that there was during that movie made me feel excluded from my original team,”Raven said on an Instagram live last May. “Not that it was strong, to begin with, but I felt excluded.”
She and Williams were able to squash any lingering animosity between one another during that live. Though some of the members have stayed in contact more than others, it appears that the tide is changing and there may be a new Cheetah Girls project in the works. When Raven discussed some of her biggest career moments with Entertainment Tonight and the Cheetah Girls was brought up, she couldn’t help but make subtle teases. “Another moment in culture that gave girl power, that gave fashion, that gave songs — [I’m] very blessed to be a part of that and can’t wait to see what the future holds with that,” Raven teases. “It’s gonna be interesting to see what the future holds in regards to the Cheetah Girls.“
“If something happened where the Cheetah Girls came back together on screen, I think the new generation would see how important it is for girl[s to have] community — and this generation’s already doing it, right? I come from a generation [of] catty girls and things of that nature,” Raven continued. “And then my mom’s generation [was] the same way. I think now it’s starting to change a little bit. I think girls are more like, ‘I got you, girl,’ and to be able to mirror that back in such an iconic, cool, innovative way that screams Cheetah… I mean, I’d be a part of it.”
In the past, Houghton has discussed being hesitant to do a reboot because she wouldn’t want to ruin it or the magic that the original films created. “[A reboot] has not been discussed at all,” Houghton said in 2020. “There’s so many things that I’m a fan of and when they redo them, I’m like, ‘Pero, why? Why did you feel that that was necessary?’ Sometimes it’s just best to bow out gracefully, let people love it forever. I’d rather people keep wanting it to be done and then it never gets done, versus doing it and they’re like, ‘They ruined it.'”
Of course a lot can change in four years and with the right story almost anything is possible. It wouldn’t be the first project to get rebooted in an effort to appease the nostalgia. Symoné returned to Disney Channel with a spin-off of That’s So Raven titled Raven’s Home and the most recently announced Wizards of Waverly Place reboot while Nickelodeon has rebooted shows like iCarly and Zoey 101 for Paramount+.