‘Cruel Intentions’ Creators Explain Sean Patrick Thomas’ New Character

Fans of 1999’s Cruel Intentions will see a familiar face in the new Prime Video series inspired by the film, but he will be taking on a completely new role in this iteration. A new Cruel Intentions is set to premiere on the streamer and the series executive producers are explaining why actor Sean Patrick Thomas, who co-starred in the film version as Ronald Clifford, had to take on the new character of Professor Chadwick in their tale of seduction, backstabbing and beautiful people doing very ugly things.

During an interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunners Sara Goodman and Phoebe Fisher revealed why Thomas won’t be playing the same character he portrayed in the original film. Goodman states it’s because they weren’t making a straight remake of the movie, and went on to say, “To then bring that character into our new world would’ve been confusing.” If anything, it seems like a fun Easter egg for fans to have the actor there, and it also allowed Thomas to portray a fully fleshed-out character, something Ronald really wasn’t in the 1999 cult classic.

“And we love Sean, so to be able to create a character that has his own journey that has a different kind of depth, that comes from and has his own history, and isn’t just someone people are reacting to and using, it was more interesting to us to take what we loved about that character and make someone new.”

They reveal that Professor Chadwick was created first before their casting director suggested reaching out to Thomas. The character is a history teacher at the fictional Manchester College and one of his students is CeCe Carroway (Sara Silva), who is the series’ version of the character of Cecile Caldwell, played by Selma Blair in the film and a character directly connected to Thomas’ Ronald. Since Professor Chadwick was created prior to reaching out to the actor, they admitted that they were shocked they could cast him when it came up as a suggestion.

“Yeah, we fangirled, for sure. I think that was to his benefit and to ours because we wrote Chadwick as a full character who had overlap with the character he played in the original, obviously, but was a full-fledged part of our world and very important soul-beating heart of Manchester College.”

‘Cruel Intentions’ is a Signature Teen Film of the ’90s

Written and directed by Roger Kumble, Cruel Intentions served as a modern-day update of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos’ 1782 novel Les Liaisons dangereuses, primarily using 1988’s period drama Dangerous Liaisons as its primary inspiration. The location was shifted to New York City to an elite school among rich high schoolers who scheme to deflower the new headmaster’s daughter, Annette Hargrove (Reese Witherspoon), before school starts. Thomas’ Ronald was a pawn in their game, as step-siblings Kathryn Merteuil (Sarah Michelle Gellar) and Sebastian Valmont (Ryan Phillippe) use him to also get back at Blair’s Cecile because Kathryn’s ex-boyfriend left her to begin dating the more innocent underclassmen.

Even though the film has been a popular cult classic since its release in 1999, the showrunners didn’t consider casting anyone else from the movie version, other than Thomas. Goodman said:

“He was the only one that we reached out to. I think everyone else would have to come back as the character they played. I don’t think they could play someone else, and so that would have to be something that organically fit into our world that we were creating.”

The new version of Cruel Intentions is set in Washington D.C. and follows more rich scheming as two step-siblings will do whatever it takes to maintain their status as they climb the Greek life social ladder at their school. Things take a turn when a hazing incident goes wrong and more debauchery is at play as they set their manipulative sights on seducing the Vice President’s daughter. The series also stars Sarah Catherine Hook, Zac Burgess, and Savannah Lee Smith.

Cruel Intentions
debuts on Nov. 21 on Prime Video.