Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat Getting Film Adaptation By Amazon Studios

Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, a musical comedy centering on the Biblical story of Joseph, is on the way from Amazon Studios. A Film adaptation of the musical is now in development, with Jon M. Chu set to direct. Chu, best known for Crazy Rich Asians, has a history working on musicals, including Step Up 2: The Streets and In the Heights. Currently, he is adapting the beloved Broadway show Wicked. He has some experience with adapting other people’s IP, not just with In the Heights, but with Jem and the Holograms and G.I. Joe: Retaliation. 

It is not immediately clear when Joseph is expected to go into production, but Chu has a busy slate coming up. Besides the two-part Wicked movie, he is also lined up to direct an animated version of Oh, the Places You’ll Go, and has been in talks for a Play Doh movie as well as the live-action Lilo & Stitch. 

According to Deadline, who first broke the news, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat will reteam Chu with his In the Heights production partner Scott Sanders. The report suggests that the movie is coming together as a great bit of serendipity for Chu and creator Andrew Lloyd Webber, both of whom see it as a dream project. There have been a number of prior adaptations of Joseph, but they were modestly-budgeted productions that went to TV or straight to video, where Chu and Amazon plan to make it into a Hollywood “event” movie.

In the Bible, Joseph was the favorite sone of Jacob, who was betrayed by his brothers an sold into slavery. Using only his wits and faith, he rises to the rank of Governor of Egypt, and finds himself face to face with his brothers when they travel to the country.

Sanders and Mara Jacobs are producing Joseph for the former’s production company SGS Pictures. Chu and Lance Johnson will produce for Chu’s Electric Somewhere, with Jane Lee overseeing on its behalf. Benjamin Lowy will executive produce, along with Rice and Lloyd Webber.

Lloyd Webber is one of the rare Broadway creators to become a household name to millions of Americans, working on projects like Cats, Evita, The Phantom of the Opera, and Jesus Christ Superstar, which is kind of a spiritual successor (no pun intended) to Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat. His most recent mega-hit is the adaptation of Richard Linklater’s film School of Rock.

Daniel Goldfarb (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel) will write the film’s screenplay.