Disney has a storied history of bringing classic fairytales to the stage. From ‘The Lion King’ to ‘Beauty and the Beast’ to ‘Mary Poppins’ and soon to ‘Aladdin’, the House of Mouse has found success on the Great White Way and around the world with their contributions to the theater. Now, for their next stage adaptation, they are saying, “As you wish.”

If you believe the headline to this article, then you might not know what that word means. Walt Disney Studios chairman Alan Horn has announced that Disney Theatrical Productions is currently working on an adaptation of Rob Reiner’s cult classic film ‘The Princess Bride’ in conjunction with William Goldman, who wrote the 1987 screenplay and 1973 novel that the movie is based on. Horn was involved with the film version of the story when he was at Castle Rock, and now he is excited to shepherd Westley, Buttercup, Fezzik, Vizzini, and Inigo Montoya to the stage:

“My involvement in ‘The Princess Bride’ goes back to 1987 and it has always been close to my heart. For all those years and a few more, I’ve been friends with the brilliant Bill Goldman, and to now have a stage production of this film in development at Disney is honestly a dream come true. It couldn’t be in better hands than those of the experienced Disney Theatrical team led by Tom Schumacher.”

Previously, another attempt had been made at adapting the story into a musical by Goldman and Tony Award-winning composer Adam Guettel of ‘The Light in the Piazza in 2007, but financial differences kept the project from moving forward. None of the material from that musical will be used in the new Disney production. In fact, there hasn’t even been confirmation that the show will be a play or a musical. However, based on Disney’s track record on the stage, chances are that we’ll be seeing some song-and-dance numbers featuring Miracle Max, Prince Humperdinck, and the Dread Pirate Roberts.

As of this writing, no timetable has been announced for this production, but death (or in this case, a prolonged developmental process) cannot stop true love. All it can do is delay it for a while.

What do you think about Disney adapting ‘The Princess Bride’ for the stage? Do you think that it will end up being a play or a musical? Are you willing to face the three terrors of the Fire Swamp to see this production either way? Let us know in the comments below.

Source: The Hollywood Reporter