Kirill Serebrennikov will remake The Phantom of the Opera into series
A French production for Pathé, filmed in English.
The Russian director Kirill Serebrennikov will move to the small screen. He will soon produce an erotic and subversive mini-series resuming The Phantom of the Operareports Variety.
The filmmaker, whose last three films (Leto, Petrov Fever And Tchaikovsky’s Wife) were in competition at Cannes, is preparing to create and direct this adaptation of the 19th century novel by Gaston Leroux in a six-part version shot in English, but produced in France by Pathé, in association with Ilya Stewart at Hype Studios .
Described as a “captivating psychological thriller with horrific overtones” by the production team, the story of Phantom of the Opera revolves around a rising artist, Christine Daaé, who becomes the obsession of a disfigured musical genius, a monster who haunts the Paris Opera.
The Phantom of the Opera has already been adapted numerous times for cinema, sometimes very freely as with the Phantom of the Paradise (1974) by Brian De Palma.
The adaptation will be modern and tell the story from Christine’s point of view as she embarks on a dark romance with the ghost, exploring themes of creation, control, grief, exclusion and ’emancipation.
“Our story will transcend the boundaries of Gaston Leroux’s text, written more than a century ago, and will become the story of the intimate world of opera,” comments Kirill Serebrennikov in Variety.
Pathé is delighted to have the Russian filmmaker: “Kirill’s keen ability to delve into the psyche of cursed characters, combined with his dynamic artistic direction and deep knowledge of the world of opera, will bring a whole new perspective to the tale.”
No filming date announced yet.
