Lon Chaney as Quasimodo 1923 Hunchback of Notre Dame
Short answer, yes! As of now there have been two Hunchback movies that seemingly have never got their footing one being from Max Ryan that had a full cast list and the other was from Josh Brolin who just had the director attached. The real question is why should they make a new version?
Salma Hayek as Esmeralda & Mandy Patinkin as Quasimodo,
Hollywood technically hasn’t made a Hunchback movie since 1939. Disney of course made their version 1996, but Disney is a little separate from Hollywood. The other versions were from France, (1956, and 1999) and the other versions were TV movies (1977, 1982, and 1997.) So there has not been a designated Hollywood Hunchback in nearly 80 years.
Quasimodo Charles Laughton, 1939 Hunchback of Notre Dame
So yeah there should a new adaptation for a more modern audience. But more than that, there are more reasons than just timeframe. Pending on the type of the movie that the producers go for, Hunchback could be pure oscar bait. For instant it’s historical-based story with a high pretension factor. Second make-up, one can get crazy with the Quasimodo’s make-up and people love the trope of the ugly dude with the beautiful soul and I think people on the internet eat that shit up. There also the real-life angle they could make with the Hunchback worker. Oscars LOVE movies based on true stories.
Esmeralda (Gina Lollobrigida) dances, 1956 Hunchback of Notre Dame
Also adding to the oscar bait factor, the academy loves itself and since it made up of mostly of actors they like movies about actors. Now there isn’t actors so much in Hunchback but Gringoire is a playwright and Esmeralda is a dancer so they are technically part of the larger industry.
Sets of the 1982 Version of The Hunchback of Notre Dame
They could also go other genre routes, like re-working the story to be like a super-hero movie. Super-hero movies are super popular though they have been waning in recent years. But Quasimodo fits a super-hero type, so it could work.
Esmeralda, Phoebus and Quaismodo Disney Hunchback of Notre Dame
There is also the chance, albeit not a super strong one, of Disney doing a live-action adaptation of the Disney version. This seems to a major trend with Disney right now. I could see this happening more than an super-hero version or a pure oscar bait.
Josh Brolin Interview for Men in Black
I will say that I have no idea what Brolin version was trying to do but I would say given Brolin and the director it might have been a super-hero variety. I couldn’t even guess on Max Ryan’s version.
But yeah, Hollywood make a new version. What kind of Hunchback version would you like to see?
(Post Script – Max’s Ryan’s movie is a going ahead as well as an Esmeralda movie in the works)
Depends on whether or not they’re going the musical route or not. If not, then either a modern retelling done in sort of a horror movie genre. Or I’d love to see a film stay true to the book…at least history and character wise. Just something that focuses on amazing character development would be perfect!
Although, I would like to see a live action Disney version done…I’ve seen what they did to Maleficent and I’m skeptical to say the least. Would Disney take their recent musical and flesh it out/tweak it a bit or would it just be the animated film made into live action? And would there be more emphasis on story, or characters and which characters would be emphasized? Either way, I’d go see it; but there’s a big difference between going to see a poorly done adaption and having fun mocking it and going to see a well done adaption and loving it.
For a film version of the musical to be successful (at least in the US), it would need a larger following in the US and to get a larger following, it would need at least a tour. Then the question would be of the musical talent. The French musical was known for using rock/pop vocalists, as opposed to classically trained musicians/actors or those trained in the style of musical theater. And then would it just be some popularized piece of garbage made only to get butts in seats?
I would love to see another Hunchback! I am not sure how Brolin’s would turn out but it could work. But I do want to see a Notre Dame de Paris musical version, but if I had to choose something that didn’t involve musicals, I would like to see a modern day retelling, just not like the recent French movie.
I would love to see a Notre Dame de Paris movie version. That would be awesome.