Disney Developing Broadway Shows for The Princess Bride, Jungle Book, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and More

Disney is developing Broadway shows for The Princess Bride, Jungle Book, Bedknobs and Broomsticks, and more. This comes as a part of the news to close Frozen's theater run in the New York Times. Thomas Schumacher, the president of Disney Theatrical Productions is still developing other properties for the stage though. He penned a letter about the current state of the industry from his position and reiterated that "we remain committed to developing and producing stage musicals for a long time to come." However, things have been harder for Disney amid the coronavirus pandemic. No movies in theaters, cruise line vacations, or theme parks open have taken their toll on the world's most recognizable entertainment brand.

The Jungle Book's adaptation will be directed by Christopher Gattelli. The book by Rajiv Joseph will contain some new songs by Richard Sherman. The Princess Bride is being developed by the company. Bob Martin will be supplying a book with Rick Elice. David Yazbek is in charge of the songs for that project. Bedknobs and Broomsticks is slated to be directed by Candice Edmunds and Jamie Harrison. Brian Hill will handle the book and Neil Bertram has been contracted to provide the songs.

With respect to Frozen, Schumacher wrote, "This difficult decision was made for several reasons but primarily because we believe that three Disney productions will be one too many titles to run successfully in Broadway's new landscape." People are shocked at the fact that the hit property will not be returning to Broadway whenever things begin to reopen. The Lion King and Aladdin are scheduled to pick back up. It's really a shame because Frozen's musical was nominated for three Tony Awards. Best Musical, Best Book, and Best Original Score were all there, but the musical failed to capture the award.

For Disney animation fans, The Walt Disney Company announced Into the Unknown: Making Frozen 2 earlier this week. That docu-series is set to premiere exclusively on Disney+ on June 26th. The six-episode journey though the film will give viewers a peek behind the scenes at one of the biggest animated movies in history. Also, of note is that Disney is releasing all of the episodes for the doc at once. That means you can feel free to get your binge on at home.

Will you be going to see any of these beloved stories on Broadway when things reopen? Let us know down in the comments!