The Phantom of The Opera
Here the series has a chance to give their own spin on characters that have become popular outside of their canon. The Phantom of The Opera is one- ask everyone and theyll sing at you, remembering Andrew Lloyd-Webbers musical and Joel Schumachers film. This film is a chance to give a more straightforward adaptation of Gaston Lerouxs original novel, something closer in tone of the Lon Chaney original. This can play with the period- something Scorsese did very well in Hugo- and craft a solid, tragic romance with airs of mystery and dread. This is not a gory one, but rather a chilling film rather than a terrifying one. It presents yet another dimension to the series- as well as intensely scary gothic; pulpy, gory fun; and cerebral examination, it can do classic romance that will appeal to both genders for different reasons. Again, I suggest setting the film around the Victorian era in keeping with the rest of the series, so the film is not bogged down in being a contemporary update, or early 20th century, affected by world wars and the like. Also, rather than Paris, which has been done to death, moved it do another romantic city with a rich culture of music- perhapsFlorence? Have The Phantom in hiding, almost as if he has followed his true love he encountered inParis. Like The Invisible Man, you focus on the legacy of the character whilst introducing it in a fresh way to the audience You need someone who can do tender and grandiose with a distinctive visual style to capture the era- I suggest Marc Forster. Like it or not, he can handle big-scale stuff well as demonstrated by Quantum of Solace, and works like The Kite Runner and Finding Neverland are emotive and visually engaging. The music should be emotive, but with some real chills to it- someone like Murray Gold who has shown on his 7 years of Doctor Who he can tackle any genre well. As for The Phantom? I suggest Cillian Murphy to bring depth to a tragic character, whilst injecting him with zest and energy. Also, hes quite a dish to a certain type of person.