By Annie Reuter
Elton John will help bring Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat to the big screen.
The Hollywood Reporter revealed today (Feb. 5) that John’s Rocket Pictures recently acquired the film rights to Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. John will executive produce the animated musical with Lloyd Webber and Rice, while Steve Hamilton Shaw and David Furnish (Elton’s hubby) will produce the film.
“Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat is one of the most popular musical experiences ever conceived,” Shaw said in a release. “We are excited about the huge potential of a contemporary animated version, and we’re thrilled to bring this to the big screen in partnership with Andrew Lloyd Webber and Tim Rice.”
Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat was the first Lloyd Webber-Rice musical to be performed publicly. The play was originally created for performance in schools but has gone on to become the most performed musical in history.
According to THR, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat has been seen by an estimated 26 million people, earning more than $600 million at the box office.The play premiered on Broadway in 1982 and went on to land multiple Tony Award and Drama Desk nominations including best musical and best original score.
The forthcoming film won’t be the first animated musical based on the Joseph story with the intent to be in theaters. In 2000, DreamWorks made Joseph: King of Dreams, with Ben Affleck as the voice lead, which went directly to video.
No word yet on casting.
