Disney Announces YA Adaptation of Beloved Broadway Play
By Movieguide® Contributor
Disney+ is developing a YA adaptation of THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA, headed by Disney vet Kenny Ortega.
The movie, titled PHANTOM, will be “a YA movie reimagination” of the classic French novel, per Deadline.
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA tells the story of the Phantom, a mysterious figure who lives beneath the Paris Opera House. He becomes obsessed with Christine, a young dancer with a beautiful voice, and schemes to make her the star of the opera.
In addition to its decades-long run on Broadway, THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA was adapted into a popular movie in 2004, starring Gerard Butler and Emmy Rossum. A portion of the Movieguide® review reads:
THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA is the most sumptuous, most beautiful movie of the year. It retains much of the bravado, spectacle, depth, and gorgeous, haunting melodies of Andrew Lloyd Webber’s popular Broadway show. Visually, the movie succeeds boldly. The acting and singing are excellent, though perhaps not quite as good as that of the original cast. Whether or not you like the movie may depend to a large degree on whether you already like the source material or enjoy musical theater. That said, the movie retains the redemptive, Christian allegory of the original, and even adds to it. All of the dramatic, visual and musical motifs come beautifully together in the inspirational ending.
MovieWeb hypothesized possible changes Ortega and scriptwriter Giovanni M. Porta might make to update the story for younger audiences.
“One possible area for change would be the inclusion of original songs and choreography, given Ortega’s past credits,” the outlet noted, referring to Ortega’s work on movies like DIRTY DANCING and NEWSIES.
MovieWeb continued, “Creating original music for PHANTOM would instantly set it apart from other adaptations, as well as offer an opportunity to add some more family-friendly elements to the traditionally darker storyline, which is steeped in themes of murder, revenge and envy.”
Ortega, who has previously led Disney franchises like HIGH SCHOOL MUSICAL and THE DESCENDANTS, will direct and executive produce the movie under his production banner The KO Company.
PHANTOM marks Ortega’s return to Disney. Collider reported that the director had “stepp[ed] away for a few years due to a contract the filmmaker signed with Netflix,” which allowed him to work on projects like JULIE AND THE PHANTOMS.
Deadline noted that PHANTOM is still “very green” at this time, “but has the potential to become a franchise similar to THE DESCENDANTS if it moves forward.”
A ‘PHANTOM OF THE OPERA’ YA movie adaptation is in the works at Disney+
Kenny Ortega is set to direct. pic.twitter.com/xGNeeGQzSI
— Film Updates (@FilmUpdates) September 6, 2024
