Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights to Rodgers & Hammerstein’s The King and I, and are currently working on a new film adaptation. Temple Hill and Concord are set to produce.
The original story follows Anna Leonowens, who voyages from England to Bangkok, Siam (now Thailand) to become the schoolteacher for the royal court of the King of Siam. The original 1951 musical was based on a 1944 novel by Margaret Landon titled, Anna and the King of Siam, which was inspired by true events in the 1860s when the king hired an English schoolteacher.
The musical was adapted to a film in 1956 with Deborah Kerr and Yul Brynner. The film earned nine Oscar nominations, winning five of them. Some of the most well-known songs from the musical include Getting to Know You, Shall We Dance, and Whistle a Happy Tune.
An animated feature film was also released in 1999, but it was received poorly by critics and audiences. A film adaptation of the original book also released in the same year, titled, Anna and the King, which starred Jodie Foster, Chow Yun-fat, and Tom Felton, but the film received mixed reviews.
There’s currently no cast, director or writer attached to the new project, but considering the number of successful remakes and musicals that have come out in recent years, the early news isn’t very surprising.
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