Bohemian Rhapsody (watch it HERE) screenwriter Anthony McCarten is working on the script for a "music-filled, big scale contemporary psychological thriller" called Phantom, which is "loosely inspired" by Gaston Leroux's 1910 novel The Phantom of the Opera. McCarten is producing the project through his company Muse of Fire Productions, alongside Denis O'Sullivan and Jeff Kalligheri of Compelling Pictures and Scooter Braun and James Shin of SB Projects.
Said to be in the vein of Black Swan and Misery, Phantom will be set in
London’s contemporary music scene. Leroux’s depiction of a destructive relationship remains, as will a dark love story, but the movie intends to upend the romanticism associated with previous interpretations, and instead lean into the suspense and horror that was a big part of the book.
You may know the name Scooter Braun from news reports about musicians, as he manages some huge stars, including Justin Bieber, Ariana Grande, Demi Lovato, J Balvin, Idina Menzel, Ashley Graham, and Tori Kelly. Braun and Shin are expected to get "a group of today's leading songwriters and music producers to create new songs for the film".
Deadline notes that this won't be the sort of musical where characters just break into song. Characters will be performing songs within the story.
McCarten had this to say about Phantom:
The basic idea that lured me in was the chance to brush the cobwebs off a 110 year old tale, and return it to its roots suspense and horror. It will be a contemporary version of story, incorporate contemporary themes, and a new musical soundtrack drawing on some of the biggest recording talent. You’re aware of everyone on the list, they are multi-Grammy winning artists. We’re aiming to do something quite groundbreaking with music and the score, and something that may also be new for the artists themselves.
We’ll reinvent this story for a new generation free from Gothic romantic period trappings. Our phantom is not offering anyone singing lessons, and there is no gondolier with a mask. It’s a bit like taking an old piece of furniture and stripping off the layers of paint, back to the original grain. It’s back to the much scarier, horror suspense roots that were in the book. With this version of the tale, we aim to bring a more psychological lens to the questions of what may, and may not, be real; and to who and what we can be."
O'Sullivan and Kalligheri provided the following statement:
It has long been a goal to bring a psychological thriller driven by original music to the big screen. In SB Projects, we’ve found great creative partners across the board, and the opportunity to have new songs accentuate and complement the singular writing of Anthony McCarten is one that we know will be a treat for audiences everywhere."
Shin added:
We’re always trying to find fresh and innovative ways to build and tell epic music driven stories, and we believe we have found the one that marries an enormously exciting thriller genre to it. We are happy to be partnering with Compelling and such a one-of-a-kind talent like Anthony."
It sounds like this is going to be quite a high profile production. It will be interesting to see which musicians Braun and Shin bring into it.