How deep is director Kenneth Branagh’s love for the Bee Gees? I suppose we’re about to find out. The veteran director has been tapped to direct the untitled Bee Gees biopic for Paramount, according to Deadline.
Branagh’s notable directing and acting career is marked by a string of Academy Award-nominated Shakespeare adaptations throughout the ’90s, including “Henry V,” “Hamlet,” and the joyful “Much Ado About Nothing.” Other directorial credits include “A Midwinter’s Tale,” “Sleuth,” “Thor,” the Lily James-led “Cinderella,” and “Murder on the Orient Express.”
Paramount has also tapped screenwriter Ben Elton to draft the film’s screenplay. Elton also wrote Branagh’s 2018 dramatic biography “All is True,” wherein the director starred as William Shakespeare.
READ MORE: Kenneth Branagh Says ‘Death On The Nile’ Is A “Very Dark, Very Sexy, Unsettling” Film
Additionally, the sole surviving brother of the original Bee Gees trio, Barry Gibb, is reportedly heavily involved in the narrative of the film. He will also serve as an executive producer. Last year, Gibb aided in the construction of HBO’s archival Bee Gees documentary “How Can You Mend a Broken Heart.”
The rights for the Bee Gees biopic initially got slated at Paramount in late 2019 by “Bohemian Rhapsody” producer Graham King’s GK Films. The picture quickly began development at Sister, an independent production company co-ran by veteran industry executives Elisabeth Murdoch, Stacey Snider, and Jane Featherstone. Amblin is also attached to produce and finance.
The timeless music of the Bee Gees defined the cultural, disco-crazed zeitgeist of the ’60s and ’70s, right around the time of Branagh’s teen and young adult years. Here’s to hoping he’s an inspired choice. Until then, Branagh’s “Orient Express” sequel “Death on the Nile” is slated to release later this year, courtesy of 20th Century Studios and Walt Disney Studios.
Here are some Bee Gees videos to get you excited for the film:
