Mindy Kaling says she's nervous writing 'Legally Blonde 3' after watching 'And Just Like That' because she doesn't want Elle Woods to be 'canceled or become a Karen'

• Mindy Kaling said she felt "too uncomfortable" to watch all of "And Just Like That."
• She's also reviving a beloved 2000s franchise with "Legally Blonde 3," which has been delayed.

Mindy Kaling recently told Time that one of the biggest challenges she's facing writing the "Legally Blonde 3" script was illuminated for her after watching the "Sex and the City" revival "And Just Like That."

Kaling, like many people, loves Reese Witherspoon's iconic character Elle Woods but is aware that she and writing partner Dan Goor are going to have to find smart ways to acknowledge that the world has changed significantly since the last time we saw Elle in "Legally Blonde 2," which was released in 2003.

"As a fan, I didn't want to watch her be canceled or become a Karen," the "Late Night" star said.

"Legally Blonde" and "Sex and the City" were beloved franchises in the early 2000s. Kaling said she was a fan of Carrie Bradshaw, so she tried to watch the revival of the series, but told Time she only got through two episodes of "And Just Like That" before giving up.

"I found it was too uncomfortable to watch," she said of the revival that has polarized critics. Kaling told Time writer Eliana Dockterman that she felt Carrie, Miranda, and Charlotte had been frozen in 2004 since we last saw them, so they were catching up with society in 2022 throughout season one of "And Just Like That."

"I felt like I could commiserate with the producers and the writers of the show, trying to address all these issues from the past, and be funny and fabulous, but also sort of apologize for itself," she said.

She described Elle in the latest installment of her franchise as "just fun" but noted that balancing that light-hearted spirit with the changes in the world has been "interesting and challenging," which is why she and Goor are taking their time writing the script.

"We don't want to be responsible for ruining what's basically Reese's 'Avengers' franchise," Kaling confessed.

"Legally Blonde 3" was originally scheduled to premiere in spring 2022, but has been delayed indefinitely while Kaling and Goor perfect their script, according to Time.

The "Office" star listed all of the questions we have about Elle Woods as a 42-year-old woman that the movie is trying to address: "Does she end up becoming all the things she wanted? How does that personality manifest in a grown woman? Has she become more cynical? Her brightness and her cheerfulness really worked when she was 22, but how has life changed her perspective on things?"

It's a lot to cover, but Kaling promised, "We're not afraid of the character in this world, and we don't feel we have to apologize for her."

She acknowledges that the "Legally Blonde" franchise, like "Sex and the City," had its flaws, but said, "We want to make sure that Elle Woods is not paying penance for existing in the year 2022."