Film News

The King and I Movie Remake in the Works

Paramount Pictures has acquired the rights to the classic Rodgers and Hammerstein musical.

New York City
Ken Watanabe and Kelli O'Hara will be making their West End debuts next year when The King and I transfers to London.
Ken Watanabe and Kelli O'Hara in The King and I
(© Paul Kolnik)

A motion picture remake of Rodgers and Hammerstein's The King and I is in the works from Paramount Pictures and Temple Hill. Concord Theatricals will also produce the upcoming film.

According to the Hollywood Reporter, the project is still in the early stages, and there is no writer or director yet attached. However, the producers are planning to bring a contemporary and diverse perspective to the material.

Inspired by Margaret Landon's novel Anna and the King of Siam, The King and I features music by Richard Rodgers and a book and lyrics by Oscar Hammerstein II. Set in 1860s Bangkok, the story follows the relationship of British schoolteacher Anna Leonowens and the King of Siam, who employs her as a tutor for his many wives and children.

The original 1956 film of The King and I starred Deborah Kerr and Yul Brenner. Recent Broadway and West End revivals were led by Kelli O'Hara and Ken Watanabe.