The town of Verona is about to be crammed with pop music this summer time with the discharge of Juliet & Romeo, and sure, you learn these names in the proper order. A brand new spin on William Shakespeare’s legendary story of affection and tragedy is coming quickly from director Timothy Scott Bogart, taking direct inspiration from the identical 1301 story that spurred the Bard to craft probably the most well-known lovers in all of fiction. It will see Juliet and her Romeo, performed by Black Mirror’s Clara Rugaard and The Final Supper’s Jamie Ward, respectively, not simply defying the long-standing feud between the Montagues and the Capulets however the very conventions of Shakespeare’s timeless story. As a part of Collider’s Unique Preview occasion for summer time motion pictures, we will share the official trailer for the musical movie together with a dialog with the director, teasing the star-crossed romance forward.
From the very starting of the trailer, Juliet & Romeo exhibits it is no odd adaptation due to a hanging authentic pop tune and choreography setting the stage for the lovers’ first encounter. Alas, the cheerful couple catches the attention of their dad and mom, particularly Insurgent Wilson’s Woman Capulet, reducing their love tune brief, for the union of a Montague and a Capulet would “set the world on hearth.” Different tunes made particularly for the film might be heard because the duo work to defy their households and, in Juliet’s case, an organized suitor to discover their love for one another. Even because the story heads to its darkest corners of their combat to be collectively, the large-scale dance sequences involving everybody from the younger up-and-coming stars to the veterans of stage and display are made to make sure Bogart’s adaptation by no means stops feeling like a rendition of the best love story ever instructed. But, the bombastic pop ballads cannot cover the tragic destiny awaiting Juliet and Romeo if they do not subvert the historical past of Shakespeare’s tragedy.
“Creating a very immersive world that might really feel actual for the audiences, but rejoice this vitality and emotion of the characters, was essential in bringing these musical numbers to life,” Bogart replied when Collider’s Maggie Lovitt requested about probably the most thrilling a part of developing the huge choreographed sequences featured within the trailer. “Months of exploration, choreography, and rehearsals led to us placing all of that in movement on mountaintop villages, within the rain and snow, and in the course of the evening!” Along with having idyllic areas to work with, the workforce had an ace up its sleeve in Oscar-winning Sweeney Todd manufacturing designer Dante Ferretti, who may take advantage of the locales, in accordance with the director. “It was a thrill to see it coming to life in these actual areas, designed by the sensible Dante Ferretti. Watching our outstanding solid uncover the soul of their characters, whereas discovering their locations on this musical world, was merely the spotlight of my profession.”
‘Juliet & Romeo’ Sports activities a Deep Forged With “Thoughts-Bogglingly Good Voices”
Rugaard and Ward lead a deep ensemble in Juliet & Romeo, joined by a robust mixture of skilled and up-and-coming actors together with Wilson, Rupert Everett, Jason Isaacs, Dan Fogler, Derek Jacobi, Rupert Graves, Ferdia Walsh-Peelo, Tayla Parx, Ledisi, Dennis Andres, Martina Oritiz Luis, Alex Grech, and Max Parker. For a number of the gamers in Shakespeare’s story, the movie will increase their roles to suit the revamped story, like Wilson’s Woman Capulet, whose advanced portrayal was impressed partly by the actress’s personal latest expertise with motherhood. The star energy wasn’t unique to the solid, both. Bogart’s Grammy-winning brother, Evan Kidd Bogart, recognized for gargantuan pop hits like Beyoncé’s “Halo,” composed the unique soundtrack with assist from Justin Grey. He additionally served as an govt producer, becoming a member of Monika Bacardi, Russell Geyser, Laurence Mark, Tom Ortenberg, Sarita Patel, Clay Pecorin, Gary A. Randall, and Andrea Zoso, alongside producers Timothy Scott Bogart, Brad Bogart, Andrea Iervolino, Jessica Martins, and Chris Torto.
Simply the best problem in casting for Timothy Scott Bogart was discovering the titular duo. With the load of historical past and the data of different performances given by Olivia Hussey, Leonard Whiting, Claire Danes, and Leonardo DiCaprio, amongst others, it was a problem to seek out the proper duo for his distinctive imaginative and prescient of the story. Nevertheless, he had nothing however glowing reward for Rugaard and Ward, who stood out from the group from the second he noticed them put it collectively as Juliet and Romeo:
“Romeo & Juliet are arguably probably the most well-known characters within the historical past of drama. So, discovering who to play them was unbelievably daunting! We all the time imagined a really completely different tackle these children. Juliet wanted to be a younger lady of startling readability of her personal view of her life, with the company to demand extra for herself and the individuals she loves. Romeo wanted to be powerfully centered in his personal view of the world, and wanted to immediately convey that this time, the story simply could also be completely different. Bringing a handful of actors to display check in Italy, we had been capable of expertise absolutely the marvel of Clara Rugaard and Jamie Ward bringing all of it collectively. Their vocals had been genuine and flawless. But it surely was the nuanced energy of their performances, and the electrified chemistry between them, that made it clear — Juliet & Romeo had been standing earlier than me.”
Bogart’s musical characteristic is supposed to be merely the primary act of a three-film trilogy based mostly on the unique story behind Romeo & Juliet, that means his imaginative and prescient of Verona is sort of a bit grander than previous diversifications. When Lovitt sat down with Isaacs final 12 months for The Salt Path, he expressed his needs for the total sequence to come back to fruition, even when he did not get the prospect to indicate off his pipes within the first movie. “I do not sing [in] it, and quite irritatingly,” he stated. “I am hoping it is certainly one of three, a trilogy.” A few of his highest reward got here for Evan Bogart and Grey’s authentic compositions, as he understood simply how troublesome it was to get individuals to sing alongside to songs that they had by no means heard. “However I can inform you, as soon as you’ve got heard them twice — I would be on the set, and so they’d be taking pictures all of them day — they’re the catchiest tunes I’ve ever heard in my life. I got here house singing them.”
Just like the director, Isaacs believes this model of Verona is given an edge by the movie’s younger leads, Rugaard and Ward, who he says have “mind-bogglingly good voices.” Mixed with the bravery of the director Bogart to not solely method Shakespeare from such a distinct angle however to shoot for a possible trilogy to inform this story, all of it made him so excited to see the completed product in theaters:
“He is simply obtained balls the dimensions of planets. I imply, to make an authentic musical based mostly on the supply materials for Romeo and Juliet, which is a distinct story from Romeo and Juliet, and to inform it on this massive, epic scale is simply… To wish to do this after which to seek out the cash to do this and to make it… So many issues we watch on display are like the opposite issues we have seen on display and enjoying it protected, and he is enjoying it so unsafe. I assumed it was fabulous whereas we’re making it. I am unable to wait to see it.”
Bogart Borrowed From Across the Actual and Theatrical World to Create ‘Juliet & Romeo’
Nearly each facet of Juliet & Romeo’s existence matches Isaacs’s description of “enjoying it so unsafe.” Even the costume design was given painstaking consideration by Bogart to make sure it was not like what viewers had seen earlier than from interval items and Shakespeare diversifications. His workforce’s efforts fairly actually spanned the globe to seek out the proper supplies to not solely be genuine to the time of the story however say one thing about every of the characters:
“The costumes had been unbelievably difficult to get proper. It will be straightforward to fall into the entice of a extra reserved, or staged look, with all of the grandeur we’ve seen earlier than. However we had been making a movie that wanted to really feel relatable to all ages at the moment. We had been dedicated to the authenticity of the piece, and all can be pushed by the muscularity of the world. Working with the exquisitely gifted costume designer, Luciano Capozzi, the design work took months, exploring the materials and colours that might have existed at the moment. We embraced the worldwide commerce, with supplies from world wide making their solution to Verona. All of that was put into motion, requiring a whole bunch of costumes, sneakers, belts, you identify it! It was all the time a thrill on the larger days, watching Luciano lead his workforce to make sure that each single individual on display had an authenticity and a narrative all their very own.”
All that arduous work was solely crucial in Bogart’s eyes as a result of he was so useless set on a selected imaginative and prescient that required each transferring half to be appropriate. “Getting the proper tone for any piece is all the time essential, however on this movie, there actually is not any film with no dedicated imaginative and prescient for a way this specific world would work,” he replied. When particularly requested concerning the musical inspirations for Juliet & Romeo, he could not simply cool down on one or two beloved movies that influenced him, however quite checked out one unifying factor between all of them. In his eyes, the most effective musicals all have moments that transcend their iconic songs and dances to hit at one thing actual. That turned the ethos for his tackle Shakespeare’s story of romance and tragedy — distilling a long-told story into one thing that may hit house for audiences within the modern-day:
“I’ve all the time thought there are two sorts of musicals… the primary, the place there’s a Milkman who clearly is aware of he’s in a musical – and even his cow appears to know he’s in a musical! It’s not an actual world – and I’ve all the time discovered that slightly distancing. Then there’s the world the place the music is such an integral driver, that one can’t assist however lose themselves to a distinct connection to all of it. That’s the musical I hope we’ve made. The place the inside emotional truths of those characters is what we see come to life in tune. Drawing inspiration from just about all over the place, from Depraved and The Best Showman, to Sweeney Todd, Les Miz and extra – the inspiration in the end got here from discovering the place the music and the moments in these different movies out of the blue turned one thing extra than simply tune and dance – and revealed themselves to be the core emotional fact because the compass to all of it.”
Juliet & Romeo will probably be launched in theaters within the US on Might 9, 2025. Try our unique trailer above and hold checking again all through the week as we debut unique appears to be like on the hottest summer time releases.
Juliet & Romeo
Launch Date
Might 9, 2025
Runtime
80 minutes
