The King and I has always been your favorite Rodgers and Hammerstein musical about cultural dissonance, sexual tension, and a ballet adaptation of Uncle Tom’s Cabin. Now, Paramount plans to remake the 1956 movie musical for a new generation, acquiring the Tony-winning stage show’s rights with a plan to approach “this classic story with a contemporary perspective that explores diversity and the contrasting world views of the characters by drawing from real history and the musical,†per Deadline.
The Oscar-winning The King and I film starring Yul Brynner and Deborah Kerr is based on the 1951 Broadway musical, which in turn draws from the 1944 Margaret Landon novel Anna and the King of Siam, which was itself derived from two memoirs by Anna Leonowens, who traveled from the United Kingdom in the 1860s to teach the children of King Mongkut of Siam, which is now Thailand. And here we think modern Hollywood is obsessed with existing IP.