William Shakespeare’s infamous play “Romeo and Juliet” tells one of the greatest, but also the most tragic love stories. It was previously adapted in versions as diverse as George Cukor’s 1935 film “Romeo and Juliet”, Franco Zeffirelli’s 1968 version of “Romeo and Juliet”, and Baz Luhrmann’s 1996 MTV-inspired “Romeo + Juliet”.
Now, a sequel to the teen romance classic will be brought to life and it will make its debut on the small screen.
According to Variety, ABC is planning to develop “Still Star-Crossed”, a TV series based on a 2013 novel of the same name. The novel is about life after the events of the classic Shakespearian tragedy.
Heather Mitchell, whose writing credits include “Scandal” and “Grey’s Anatomy”, is on board is pen the script and executive produce the TV sequel to “Romeo and Juliet”. Shonda Rhimes and Betsy Beers will serve as non-writing executive producers.
Michael R. Goldstein will also be executive producing the series.
“Still Star-Crossed”, which was written by Melinda Taub, centres on the continuing feud between the Capulets and the Montagues after the tragic deaths of Romeo and Juliet. Faced with more bloody battles, Prince Escalus concludes that Benvolio (Romeo’s cousin) must marry Rosaline (Juliet’s cousin, and Romeo’s pre-Juliet crush) to stop the escalating violence.
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Everyone, including Benvolio and Rosaline, is skeptical about the idea. However, they forge a bond to try and end the feud not only to escape their forced betrothal, but also to save their lives and the city of Verona itself.
Developing a TV sequel to “Romeo and Juliet” is not entirely a terrible idea, but it will be produced by ShondaLand, the same drama factory that also specialised in adult romance via its series such as “Grey’s Anatomy”, “Scandal”, and “How to Get Away With Murder”.
Will ShondaLand be able to put a fresh twist on the story? Your guess is as good as ours.
This report came after NBC announced that the 1999 hit film “Cruel Intentions” will be getting a TV remake. We’ll see whether or not both series will be able to capture the attention of the new generation.
Stay tuned for more updates.
Source: Variety.
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