The Phantom of the Opera is one of those horror stories that gets remade frequently. The public domain source material (the novel by Gaston Leroux) and the general familiarity of the title are likely to blame. Since Universal has been working to develop new versions of its classic monster movies, it was clear that they’d attempt this one again.
A new iteration, simply titled Phantom, was announced recently. It’s going to be set in New Orleans, with the story revolving around a failing nightclub in place of the spectacular Paris Opera House.
As reported in Deadline, screenwriter John Fusco said, “This is set it in the sultry nightlife scene of modern day New Orleans, the world of jazz, R&B, neo-Soul, and funk. The French Quarter, where New Orleans is not only known as America’s most haunted city, but the music, French Creole culture, the voodoo mystique, masquerade pageantry of Mardi Gras, just lent itself to a natural adaptation of the Paris setting, and a story that has revenge, unrequited love and mystery.”
Further comments seem to indicate that this will be a musical, though it’s hard to be sure what he means by that. Any attempt to make a musical Phantom in the wake of the 80s mega-hit by Andrew Lloyd Webber seems like folly along the lines of Universal’s “Dark Universe” plans.
While I’m not saying it can’t be done, previous attempts to update this story have been dismal. Does anyone else remember the awful Phantom of the Paradise? This new take sounds a bit like that film with Jazz and R&B replacing the rock score. Ugh. I suppose we just have to wait and see if this thing even gets made.