Rebel Wilson 'Only' Wanted to Make a Movie Musical as Her Directorial Debut: 'I've Just Loved' the Genre (Exclusive)

The ‘Pitch Perfect’ alum directs, produces and stars in ‘The Deb,’ which premieres at the Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, Sept. 14

Rebel Wilson always knew her first time in the director’s chair would be for a musical.

“Basically, it could only have been a musical, I think, because the amount of work and passion and love you have to put in, I think for me it could only be a musical,” the Pitch Perfect alum, 44, tells PEOPLE ahead of the Sept. 14 premiere of her directorial debut The Deb at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival.

To explain the origins of her love for the genre, Wilson rewinds time to a production she watched as a teen — for a slightly unconventional reason.

It’s “a bit of a long story,” the star explains, “but our dogs were the stars of my family and our dog had auditioned for a musical called 42nd Street, and the dog went to the call-backs and was supposed to run over to the actress on command.”

Instead, Wilson says, the family pet defecated onstage and “we didn't get the job.” And when her mom insisted they go see the pup that ultimately won the role, Wilson found herself in the audience for the 42nd Street production — and her life would never be the same.

“And so as a 14-year-old, a girl going through puberty and just not having a place in the world, going through a tough time in high school and stuff, I saw this musical — this singing and dancing and joy and light and awesomeness — and ever since then, I've just loved musicals,” she says.

“So I thought in order to take me out of the acting game for a while and to direct, it had to be a musical,” Wilson continues, “And I thought it had to be Australian, because it's very authentic to me and my background. So hence, The Deb.”

Thanks in part to the stellar performances from “awesome ladies” Natalie Abbott and Stevie Jean, the first-time director tells PEOPLE she is “so proud” of how her film turned out.

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And that “dancing and joy and light and awesomeness” a younger Wilson found in musicals was found behind the scenes of The Deb as well, according to its two young stars.

“It was really, really fun,” Abbott tells PEOPLE of filming with Wilson at the helm. “There was a lot of laughing, just kind of always on set.”

“Yeah, there was a lot of improv, which was great, especially for scenes with me and Rebel,” adds Jean. “It was a lot of just back and forth moments. It was just so much fun.”

Outside of her directorial duties, Wilson also has a supporting role in the Australia-set musical about a high school outcast (Abbott) who is determined to redefine herself at her small town's Debutante Ball, or “the Deb," as it's known to locals.

The film also stars Jean, Charlotte MacInnes, Tara Morice and Shane Jacobson.

The Deb premieres at the 2024 Toronto International Film Festival on Saturday, Sept. 14, and does not yet have a release date.

Among Wilson’s other upcoming projects is another movie musical, Verona's Romeo & Juliet, scheduled for 2025.

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