Roald Dahl’s classic children’s book Matilda is set to be adapted into a musical for streaming giant Netflix.
The story captured the hearts of kids the world over when, in 1996, it was turned into a big screen movie featuring the acting talents of Miracle on 34th Street’s Mara Wilson, Hollywood star Danny DeVito, British actress Pam Ferris and others.
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Now, Sony Pictures and Netflix are reportedly teaming up to breathe new life into the story for a whole new generation of viewers.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Matilda The Musical will be released in theatres and home video in the UK before streaming on Netflix globally.
It was Sony’s TriStar division that created the ’90s adaptation of the much-loved children’s book.
The original movie disappointed at the box office, according to statistics available at Box Office Mojo and The Numbers, which both record domestic earnings of around $33million.
The film tells the story of bookworm Matilda (Wilson), a little girl who discovers she has telekinetic powers while trying to survive in a brutal school run by the dreaded Miss Trunchbull (Ferris).
But it was a critical success and has since been adapted for the stage, with a production called Matilda The Musical that debuted on the West End in 2011 and ran on Broadway in the US for several years.
A reported by The Hollywood Reporter, the Broadway version of Matilda The Musical ran 1,555 performances over just under four years and managed to bag a handful of Tony Awards.
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News of the Netflix musical follows reports that the streaming giant is planning on adapting a number of Roald Dahl books for its platform.
The company last year revealed that, in addition to Matilda, it would be working on screen versions of The BGF and Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, both of which have been recreated for the big screen in recent years.
The stage musical’s director Matthew Warchus and writer Dennis Kelly will direct and write the screenplay for Netflix‘s Matilda film respectively. ED! contacted Netflix for comment.
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