(An Overview of the big new pieces for Hunchback of 2025)
The post I had originally wanted to do for today was proving more daunting plus with some end-of-the-year time restrictions and the fact that I didn’t want to rush it, I’m rescheduling that one*.
So let’s do an end of the year News round up…which is more fitting for the end of the year.
A New Film
The biggest news of 2025 was the announcement of a new a film adaptation from Netflix starring Vincent Cassel. This version is taking a big swing because the concept is more the historical story behind the story of the stone worker who was said to have inspired the character of Quasimodo. Behind the scenes pictures from instagram do imply that this version as an 19th century look but we’ll have to wait and see. However they are filming it so it’s more underway than the other versions that have been announced over the last decade aside from one “version” the we try and forgot about.
A Controversy
There is always a new production of the Disney Musical being put on somewhere, it’s the nature of it being on the regional side of the Disney Theatricals. However a more professional concert style version of the Musical was put on in London’s West End. The Controversy was in the dual casting of Quasimodo. It wasn’t so much the splitting up of the role so much as casting one performer is deaf thus according to Equity dimished other facets of Quasimodo’s lived experience chiefly his kyphosis. This does spark a genuine conversation of inclusion and acting as a whole.
No New News Interview
In February Alan Menken gave an interview about the state of the Live Action remake of The Hunchback of Notre Dame. In the interview Menken suggested that the movie was going to be hard to adapt and there would be no point to the project if it didn’t cover the more challenging “meaty” themes and concepts which scares the studio.
More Performance
The Roland Petit 1965 Ballet Notre Dame de Paris was performed in Paris at the Opèra Bastille in December.
Notre Dame de Paris continues with its French Revival World Tour and returned to the venue where it was originally put on the Palais de Congres. Also over the summer the original cast put of a concert is I believe Canada.
It was also announced that there would be an Italian Tour Cast for its 25th anniversary in 2026. The Italian version of Notre Dame de Paris does tour Italy frequently but not since 2024 I believe.
While it doesn’t seem like a lot of new news for 2025 it actually a decent amount. Plus it’s always fun to get a new film version announced and it even better since this one is past the pre-production phase. Still it’s a weird odd thing that it’s Cassel as a stone mason in Revolution and cholera torn 1830s Paris with the director Gerald Butler’s Plane is the version getting “adapted” but what can you do?
* The original post was a review request, figures-crossed I can get it done soon.
