‘The King and I’ is being remade by the makers of the ‘Twilight’ movies
A new version of The King and I is in development for Paramount Pictures.
The story was most famously previously adapted in the American musical film in 1956, starring Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner.
That movie was based on Rodgers and Hammerstein’s 1951 musical, which was inspired by the 1944 novel Anna and the King of Siam by Margaret Landon.
Landon’s book was based on the memoirs of Anna Leonowens, who set sail from England for Bangkok to become school teacher to the children of King Mongkut of Siam in the early 1860s.
The 1956 movie was a huge hit, nominated for nine Oscars and winning five, including Best Actor for Yul Brynner as the King.
Deadline reports that Paramount Pictures “aims to mount a moving and vivid retelling of the classic East meets West story.”
The new movie will be produced by Marty Bowen & Wyck Godfrey’s Temple Hill Entertainment.
They’re the production company behind the Twilight franchise, the Maze Runner movies, and a new upcoming adaptation of The Wizard of Oz.
The quality of their back catalogue doesn’t fill us with confidence, but we’re optimists here and it’s now been 65 years since the original movie, so perhaps we’ll be pleasantly surprised.
The remake will still be a musical, once again utilising the songs from the Rodgers and Hammerstein stage production.
1956’s original The King and I movie is available on DVD on Amazon.