Fox 2000 Picks Up Stephen Schwartz's Hans Christian Andersen Movie Musical- Ansel Elgort In Talks to Star

According to Deadline, an untitled musical project based on the life and works of Hans Christian Andersen was just picked up by FOX 2000. Featuring music and lyrics by Stephen Schwartz and a script by David Magee, the "four quadrant epic musical fantasy" will be produced by Craig Zadan and Neil Meron.

Ansel Elgort (Baby Driver, Divergent) is in talks to star in the film, though he is not yet officially attached.

Deadline describes the project a "a musical Harry Potter, a potential movie franchise that can later translate to a Broadway musical like Frozen."

Some of Hans Christian Andersen's most famous fairy tales include "The Emperor's New Clothes", "The Little Mermaid", "The Nightingale", "The Snow Queen", "The Ugly Duckling", "Thumbelina", and many others. His stories have inspired ballets, plays, and animated and live-action films.

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Schwartz has contributed music and/or lyrics to the following shows: Godspell, Pippin, The Magic Show, The Baker's Wife, Working (which he also adapted and directed), Rags, Children of Eden, My Fairytale, and the current Broadway hit, Wicked. For films, he collaborated with Alan Menken on the songs for Disney's Enchanted as well as the animated features Pocahontas and The Hunchback of Notre Dame and wrote the songs for the DreamWorks animated feature The Prince of Egypt. In the field of classical music, he collaborated with Leonard Bernstein on the English texts for Bernstein's Mass, composed the choral pieces "Testimony" and "Keramos," and his first opera, Séance on a Wet Afternoon, premiered with Opera Santa Barbara in the fall of 2009 and was recently produced by New York City Opera. Other credits include the title song for the play and movie Butterflies Are Free, songs for two musicals for children, Captain LOUIE and My Son Pinocchio, and two CDs of new songs entitled Reluctant Pilgrim and Uncharted Territory.

Zadan and Meron's upcoming projects include a live telecast of JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR Live in Concert airing on NBC on Easter Sunday 2018, and a live broadcast of Aaron Sorkin's A FEW GOOD MEN, starring Alec Baldwin.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos