Darren Aronofsky Says a Black Swan Musical Could Happen

Filmmaker Darren Aronofsky’s Black Swan became one of 2010’s most acclaimed films, earning multiple awards nominations and securing Natalie Portman the Oscar for Best Actress, with the filmmaker recently revealing that he had plans to turn the story into a musical. The disturbing premise of the horror film might not seem like an easy fit for a musical, but given how much of the film is centered around ballet, there’s a lot more music built into the DNA of the film than audiences might realize. Aronofsky’s latest film, The Whale, is currently in select theaters.

“We’re trying to do the Black Swan musical,” Aronofsky shared with The AV Club. “We’ll see what happens. But we’re working on it.”

Throughout his career, Aronofsky has delivered a number of gripping and, at times, unsettling experiences for movie audiences, thanks to projects like Requiem for a Dream, The Fountain, and mother!, yet the filmmaker went on to express his interest not only in potentially adapting Black Swan into a staged musical, but also potentially developing a movie musical.

“I would love to [make a movie musical] and I’ve talked to many people about it. And I’ve come close to a few ideas,” the filmmaker expressed. “It’s a very tricky thing because music from musicals is not popular music anymore. So what do you do? I think Hamilton was brilliant because Lin-Manuel Miranda fused hip-hop with musical music. And so he had this breakthrough that was really brilliant. But figuring that angle of it, of what the music would be, where it comes from, is the big challenge. But I’ve spent a lot of time thinking about it. And hopefully one day I could figure something out.”

Not all of Aronofsky’s films are inherently intense, as he’s also delivered audiences projects like The Wrestler, which saw Mickey Rourke playing an aging professional wrestler who puts his life on the line to maintain a grip on his celebrity, while The Whale sees Brendan Fraser playing a 600-pound man who has days to live and hopes to repair the strained relationship with his daughter before he dies. 

Stay tuned for details on a possible musical adaptation of Black Swan.

Would you like to see the film be turned into a musical? Let us know in the comments or contact Patrick Cavanaugh directly on Twitter to talk all things Star Wars and horror!