Rob Marshall to direct Guys & Dolls remake

Is the musical… back? Much as Hollywood has tried to hide its affinity for song and dance, musicals have been getting made. Wonka was a holiday hit; The Color Purple got Oscar nominations. This fall the Broadway blockbuster Wicked hits the silver screen, and now it seems the time is right to remake Guys And Dolls. And who better to take on a period piece musical adaptation than a master of the form, Rob Marshall?

According to Deadline, Marshall and John DeLuca are partnering with John Requa and Glenn Ficarra to write the script for this new take. The film will be produced by John Goldwyn, Marc Toberoff, and Marc Platt at TriStar Pictures. Platt is one of Hollywood’s biggest musical guys—he’s also producing John M. Chu’s Wicked, and worked with Marshall on Nine, Into The Woods, Mary Poppins Returns, and The Little Mermaid. Those were all varying successes (or total flops, in regards to Nine), but of course the entry that proves Marshall a perfect fit for Guys And Dolls is Chicago, still held as the gold standard for the modern movie musical. 

Guys And Dolls began its life on Broadway in 1950, and after smash success and a Tony Award for Best Musical, was adapted for the screen in 1955. The film starred Frank Sinatra, Marlon Brando, Jean Simmons, and Vivian Blaine. The movie was also a big hit and went on to win two Golden Globes, including Best Motion Picture—Musical or Comedy. Whoever stars in Guys And Dolls has big shoes to fill, and to hear Deadline report it, young Hollywood will be salivating for the parts. When a remake first began floating around years ago, Channing Tatum and Joseph Gordon-Levitt were reportedly the top picks. At various times, Russell Crowe, Vin Diesel, and Hugh Jackman were also pursuing the roles of Sky Masterson and/or Nathan Detroit.

So which young stars are going to be in the mix in 2024? With Mike Faist coming off a huge year, he’s an obvious contender. A recent video circulating on Twitter/X of Faist and Molly Gordon, another rising star, at the workshop for Alice By Heart is enough to throw both their names in the ring. Ben Platt doesn’t feel like the best fit for Guys & Dolls‘ leading men, but he’s got the talent and the connections (being the son of the film’s producer). On the other hand, Dune2 co-stars Timothée Chalamet and Austin Butler have both proven their musical chops elsewhere, and they’ve also both proven an eagerness to emulate Old Hollywood stars like Brando and Sinatra. Faist’s West Side Story co-star Rachel Zegler would be a perfect fit for a Marshall musical, and we can’t discount his Little Mermaid star Halle Bailey (who is building a strong movie musical resumé with her role in The Color Purple). Tom Holland hasn’t yet given his dancing skills a showcase on screen, and his partner Zendaya is a huge star with a musical background. Or maybe Wicked‘s Ariana Grande could continue her movie star era with a comic turn as Adelaide? The possibilities are delicious—as is the prospect of a new golden age for movie musicals.