A present-day adaptation of Gaston Leroux's novel The Phantom of the Opera is currently in the works from Universal Pictures, with EGOT winner John Legend attached to the project as a producer. The action will move from Paris, France, to the French Quarter in New Orleans, Louisiana.
Deadline reports John Fusco is writing a script, currently titled Phantom. Rather than placing the story at the opera (and using that style), like Andrew Lloyd Webber’s musical, the new film will follow the story of an up-and-coming nightclub singer who is mentored by a mysterious man.
“This is set in the sultry nightlife scene of modern day New Orleans, the world of jazz, R&B, neo-Soul, and funk,” said Fusco, whose credits include Crossroads, Hidalgo, and The Highwaymen. “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.”
Legend and Mike Jackson are producing through their Get Lifted Film Co. alongside Harvey Mason, Jr. of Harvey Mason Media. Serving as executive producer is Ty Stiklorius.
This is the latest Phantom-related screen project to be announced in recent years. A six-part limited series, based on the book, was teased in 2020, but no updates surrounding the show have been issued since then.
