Exclusive: Groundhog Day Remake In Development As A Musical
We've exclusively learned Sony wants to remake Groundhog Day as a musical.
How do you remake a perfect movie? Well, apparently you add singing and dancing. According to our trusted and proven sources, a Groundhog Day remake is in development at Sony, and unlike the original this one will be a musical.
If you’re a fan of musical theater, then there’s a good chance you know, as NPR reported in 2017, that this will not be the first musical Groundhog Day remake. The hilarious 1993 comedy was adapted as a stage musical which made its London premiere in 2016, crossed the pond to Broadway the following year, and reopened in the West End just this year.
Music and lyrics came from the famous Australian comedian Tim Minchin, with the book from Danny Rubin, who wrote the original script from the 1993 film.
Andy Karl plays the lead Phil Connors, Murray’s character in the 1993 film, in all of the stage adaptations of the movie. Karl is best known for his stage work, but he’s also worked as a screen actor, including in musical projects like the 2007 TV movie Legally Blonde: The Musical.
Whether Sony’s cinematic Groundhog Day remake will be an adaptation of the 2016 musical or something entirely new, we don’t know. However, unless the rights for the stage adaptation are unavailable to Sony, it would seem strange to create a brand new musical when one already exists.
Another question we don’t have an answer to — that fans will no doubt be wondering — is whether or not Bill Murray will be at all involved in the Groundhog Day remake. The Ghostbusters star’s reputation has suffered recently after sexual misconduct allegations arose from the set of the now canceled Being Mortal. That opened the proverbial floodgates with celebrities like Seth Green, Rob Schneider, and Murray’s Quick Change co-star Geena Davis sharing their own horror stories about him.
But it would be too early to consider Murray “canceled.” Not long after the allegations arose, Murray appeared in Ant-Man & The Wasp: Quantumania with neither Marvel nor Disney seeming to do anything to minimize his involvement in the blockbuster, including releasing promotional posters with Murray in which the actor’s character was the focus
Not to mention he recently got some unsurprisingly strong support from his frequent collaborator Asteroid City director Wes Anderson, who referred to Murray as “family.”
So unless things get worse for the star, a spot in the Groundhog Day remake may very well be a possibility. If we had a say in the matter, we’d vote for him to nab the role of Ned Ryerson (played by Stephen Tobolowsky in the original film), the irritating life insurance agent who keeps interrupting the time-looping Phil Connors.
