Lionsgate Moving Forward With Dystopian Romeo And Juliet War Movie

With The Hunger Games: Mockingjay – Part 2 now out in theaters, closing the book on Lionsgate’s YA juggernaut for the time being, the studio is left with a sizeable gap to fill as we round the corner to 2016, particularly after churning out four entries into The Hunger Games series in as many years.

And though we fully expect the studio to circle back to the dystopian landscape of Panem, there’s another futuristic milieu that has cropped up on Lionsgate’s radar: Romeo and Juliet: The War. Partnering with 1821 Media and Stan Lee’s POW! Entertainment, the project is a decidedly different take on the Shakespearean classic, thrusting the lovestruck pair into a dark and distant future. Core elements still remain, of course, with Romeo and Juliet hailing from different sides of two warring factions, putting their lives at risk as they throw caution to the wind to be with one another.

Penned by Max Work in 2012 with illustrations by Skan Srisuwan, Variety reports that John J. Griffin has been recruited to adapt Romeo and Juliet: The War into a feature film, with the official synopsis teasing of a much grander scope than the tragic romance of old.

Two groups of superhuman soldiers who turned the Empire of Verona into the most powerful territory on earth. The MONTAGUES, powerful cyborgs made of artificial DNA, and the CAPULETS, genetically enhanced humans known for their speed and agility, worked in tandem to destroy all threats to the city. With no one left to fight, the Montagues and Capulets found themselves a new enemy: each other.

1821 Media has dispatched Paris Kasidokostas-Latsis and Terry Dougas on producing duties, while Stan Lee and Gill Champion will leverage producing on behalf of POW!. In Lionsgate’s corner, Erik Feig and James Myers will oversee the adaptation.

Shakespeare’s timeless story of young love, which was subtly referenced in Jonathan Levine’s Warm Bodies, is ready to hit the big screen once more – but not as you now it. Tell us, what are your early impressions of Romeo and Juliet: The War?