High School Musical director sets sight on teen adaptation of Phantom of the Opera

High School Musical trilogy director Kenny Ortega is making his grand return to Disney by way of a YA movie adaptation of the iconic Broadway play.

After 20 years since its last mainstream adaptation, The Phantom of the Opera is getting a revival and will be heading to the more kid-friendly platform of Disney+.

While Gaston Leroux’s 1909 novel has been turned into an award-winning Broadway musical and a timeless movie, this time around the Beauty and the Beast-style love story will focus on a younger cast.

Deadline confirmed the streaming service has green lit a young adult movie adaptation that will be headed by Ortega and his personal production studio, The KO Company.

Ortega is best known for his work on Disney Channel’s biggest movie franchises High School Musical and Descendants, along with other popular works such as Newsies, The Cheetah Girls, and Hocus Pocus.

Despite having a great working relationship with the House of Mouse, Ortega stepped away from them and entered a five year contract with Netflix, during which he produced the original series Julie and the Phantoms. Unfortunately, the series was cancelled after one season.

This film would be Ortega’s first Disney project since 2019 and, while not much is known so far, the outlet reported the director’s Phantom has the potential to “become a franchise similar to The Descendants if it moves forward.”

This will be the first time the romance musical will be aimed towards a younger audience, as its mature themes of isolation, murder, stalking, and obsession has been geared towards adults throughout its numerous adaptations.

The biggest hurtle Disney and Oretga will face with their Gen Z version will most likely be how to incorporate the more horror-centric elements, which play a significant role in the overall story, into a general audience adaptation.

For more, check out all the new movies out this month and keep up with our guide to the best movies of 2024 so far.