Believe it or not, there is yetanothertake onCharles Dickens' classic,A ChristmasCarol,in the works from Disney and directorBill Condon. This is the secondA Christmas Carol-related adaptation announced in recent months. Back in September, we learnedRyan ReynoldsandWill Ferrellwere teaming upto star in a new take on the timeless holiday story for HBO Max.
Now, The Hollywood Reporter have confirmed Disney and Condon are re-teaming following the director’s successful handling of the 2017 live-action remake ifBeauty and the BeaststarringEmma Watson.This new riff onA Christmas Carolwill reportedly be a “re-imagining” of the Dickens tale as seen through the eyes of the character Jacob Marley, the former business partner of protagonist Ebenezer Scrooge who we meet as a ghost early in the story. The project is currently titledMarley.
THR also notes in their report aboutMarleythat Condon, who will direct, has already written the script. This signals to me that the project is more than just greenlit — it’s darn near ready to go into production. Disney must be really psyched to get this show on the road. As for the music,Stephen Schwartzis also on the ball and has written all of the music forMarley. Schwartz is a three-time Oscar winner known for his work on Disney animated filmsPocahontasandThe Hunchback of Notre Dameas well as the Broadway musicalWicked.
It’s not surprising that Disney would look to mine even more gold nuggets from the popularA Christmas Carolstory. There have been myriad adaptations of the Dickens work dating back to the 1930s and ranging from live-action to animation to one filled with Muppets. This isn’t even the first time Disney has cashed in onA Christmas Carol. The House of Mouse teamed with directorRobert Zemeckisin 2009 to create a mo-cap-based adaptation starringJim Carrey. Whatisnew (and thus leaves me cautiously optimistic) is the fact that this adaptation is seemingly going in a new direction and focusing on a non-Scrooge character.
For more onA Christmas Carol,check outour ranking of every adaptation(so far) of the beloved holiday tale.
