Paramount Pictures is getting in on the business of Monty Python. The studio has acquired “Spamalot,” the upcoming movie adaptation of the hit Broadway musical.
The film was previously set up at Fox, but the project was sidelined when Disney acquired Rupert Murdoch’s film empire in 2019.
“Spamalot,” which has been a mainstay in the theater world for years, is based on the seminal 1975 comedy “Monty Python and the Holy Grail.” Both the movie — which starred Python members Terry Gilliam, Terry Jones, John Cleese, Graham Chapman and Eric Idle — and the Broadway musical parody the legend of King Arthur, though the stage and screen versions differ plot-wise in many ways.
Casey Nicholaw, a Broadway veteran who choreographed the original “Spamalot,” as well as “The Book of Mormon,” “Aladdin” and “Mean Girls,” is directing the movie adaptation. Dan Jinks will serve as a producer, along with Eric Idle, the show’s creator who also wrote the screenplay. The cast has not been announced yet.
Jon Gonda and Mike Ireland are executing producing the project for Paramount. The studio plans to ramp up casting and move along production efforts this year.
Mike Nichols directed the original 2005 Broadway production, which featured Tim Curry as King Arthur and popularized the tongue-in-cheek song “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life.” It scored 14 Tony nominations and won three, including best musical. “Spamalot” became a commercial success, grossing more than $175 million at the box office, and later sparking a West End revival and numerous domestic and international tours.
Deadline Hollywood first reported the news.