Bring out your dead and beware of baleful bunnies because Paramount Pictures is bringing the Monty Python musical Spamalot to the silver screen! In a part of this news that does not smell like Elderberries, Spamalot is already fully developed, with a screenplay by Monty Python troupe member Eric Idle, and songs by Idle and John DuPrez. Set to direct the feature is Casey Nicholaw, who was the choreographer of the original Broadway production. Originally, Spamalot was acquired by Fox, but work to bring the adaptation to screens was stunted when Disney absorbed aspects of the aforementioned studio.
Spamalot is an adaptation of the 1975 film Monty Python and the Holy Grail, which since being released in theaters has become a cornerstone of British comedy. Later adapted into a Broadway musical, Spamalot won the Tony for Best Musical and one for its director, Mike Nichols, who passed away in 2014 due to a heart attack. In Monty Python and the Holy Grail, King Arthur (Graham Chapman) and his Knights of the Round Table embark on a surreal, low-budget search for the Holy Grail, encountering many, very silly obstacles. What sort of obstacles, you ask? Oh, I don't know, how do killer rabbits and Knights who say "Ni" grab you? If that's not enough, you've also got Not Dead Fred, moronic plague victims, and the Black Knight, who continues to fight despite having his arms and legs severed from his body. He gets points for his tenacity, but c'mon!
Spamalot is produced by Dan Jinks, and Idle, with Jon Gonda and Mike Ireland acting as executives on the project courtesy of Paramount. Casting for the film is expected to begin this year.