Director Kenny Ortega is working with Disney+ to reimagine Gaston Leroux’s classic novel The Phantom of the Opera for a young adult audience. Although the project is still in the early days of development, it has the potential to become a franchise similar to Ortega’s other Disney collaborations, such as Descendents and High School Musical.
Deadline revealed the production of Ortega’s Phantom this morning, but many details of the project have yet to be revealed. The original novel, set in 1880’s France, follows the story of Erik, a mysterious, partially disfigured musician who lives in the waterways beneath the Paris Opera House. His growing obsession with Christine, a young soprano and member of the opera, incites conflict and eventually violence, as Erik seeks to conceal his identity while simultaneously striving to transform Christine into a star. It’s unclear how many of these details will be brought to Ortega’s adaptation, but a spec script has already been written by Giovanni M. Porta, a writer, producer, and actor best known for his work on Paramount+’s At Midnight, starring Diego Boneta.
The DisInsider reports hopes are high for the upcoming project, with eventual plans to transform Ortega’s Phantom into a franchise much like Descendents or High School Musical if the adaptation is well-received. With directing and production credits spanning over fifty years, Ortega is certainly the man for the job. His most recent work encompasses multiple, incredibly successful Disney franchises, but he was also the director, producer, and choreographer behind classic hits such as Dirty Dancing, Newsies, and Hocus Pocus. This unique array of experience also suggests that many elements of the Phantom of the Opera’s Broadway adaptation may be honored in Ortega’s Phantom as well.
Bringing the Phantom to Life — Again
Since its publication in 1910, Leroux’s The Phantom of the Opera has received numerous adaptations, with the most famous — and perhaps the most beloved — being its debut on Broadway in 1988, written by Andrew Lloyd Webber. The show finally closed in 2023 after an impressive 35-year run, garnering seven Tony Awards and setting multiple records along the way. A movie of the same name was released in 2004; a faithful homage to the Broadway musical, it altered as few elements as possible, starring Gerard Butler as the Phantom, and Emmy Rossum as Christine.
However, as a YA adaptation catering specifically to younger audiences, Ortega’s version is sure to make some drastic changes. One possible area for change would be the inclusion of original songs and choreography, given Ortega’s past credits. 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. But given that the project is still in the early days of development, it’s certain to be a long time before we know more about what Ortega is planning for this version of the tragic love story.