THE ROSES: Jay Roach Set to Direct a Remake of 1989’s Dark Comedy THE WAR OF THE ROSES

The Roses Will Rework Themes from The War of the Roses

Jay Roach will be directing a remake of Danny DeVito‘s hit black comedy from 1989, The War of the Roses.

Academy Award nominee for The Power of the Dog, Benedict Cumberbatch, and Oscar-winner, Olivia Colman, will be starring in the lead roles in the remake of the heavy comedy, The War of the Roses, to be helmed by director Jay Roach. In 1989, the original film starred Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner as a couple who fall in love and slowly end up in a disaster of a relationship that culminated in the pair falling from a chandelier and dying untimely deaths.

The 1989 movie was a surprising box-office hit earning $86 million domestically and another $73 million overseas despite a tragic ending which initially didn’t seem like it would be profitable for the holiday season during which the picture was released. The film still earned a respectable “B” CinemaScore alongside its box-office success.

Now, director Roach will be following in DeVito’s footsteps with his picture to be released by Searchlight titled simply, The Roses. Cumberbatch will play Theo and Colman will portray Ivy. This new picture is going to be scripted by The Favourite scribe, Tony McNamara. Colman won her Oscar for Best Actress for her role in The Favourite from 2018.

The Roses sounds like a risky proposition in a time where audiences seem to respond best to action movies or pictures with happier story lines. There is a lot of hostility to be found in the characters of the film from 1989 where the lead couple threw things at each other and did nasty things to one another. Though we don’t know what type of ending McNamara will use for Roach’s picture quite yet, it can’t be any more frustrating than the original movie’s conclusion from 1989. Danny DeVito sort of made the ending less bleak with his funny persona but how the lawyer role DeVito played will fit into the new picture remains to be seen at the present time.

Cumberbatch and Colman are two of Hollywood’s most acclaimed stars and have a history of recent prestigious projects under their belts. They will certainly do justice to Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner’s work in the original movie if the first look at the details of the new project are any indication. What made the original movie so special was that it tackled divorce in a relentless way that no other picture did before it. Sure, the movie had funny moments but it was especially dark and realistic in much of its presentation of its characters.

Leave your thoughts on the remake of The War of the Roses below in the comments section. Readers seeking to support this type of content can visit our Patreon Page and become one of FilmBook’s patrons. Readers seeking more movie news can visit our Movie News Page, our Movie News Twitter Page, and our Movie News Facebook Page. Want up-to-the-minute notifications? FilmBook staff members publish articles by Email, Google News, Feedly, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Tumblr, Pinterest, Reddit, Telegram, Mastodon, Flipboard, and Threads. This news was brought to our attention by Collider.