Academy Award-nominated actress-singer, Cynthia Erivo has been cast in the upcoming remake of the 1979 musical drama, The Rose, according to The Hollywood Reporter. The performer will be taking over the tile character of Mary Rose “The Rose” Foster from Bette Midler, who starred in the original 20th Century Fox film from 1979.
The movie’s eponymous protagonist is a self-destructive rock star who struggles to deal with the constant pressures of her career and the demands from the people in her life. The remake will be set in modern times, and offer a contemporary take on the high price of fame, especially for women.
Searchlight Pictures is currently developing the updated version of The Rose, which will be produced by Erivo and Solome Williams through their production company, Edith’s Daughter. However, there have been no reports yet on who will write and direct the project.
While The Rose is in development, the Emmy Award-winning Erivo can currently be seen playing Aretha Franklin on National Geographic’s anthology period drama television series, Genius: Aretha. The Tony and Grammy Award-winning actress-singer’s other upcoming projects include the live-action Pinocchio movie for Dinsey+, on which she’ll play the Blue Fairy. She’ll also star in writer-director John Ridley’s sci-fi film, Needle in a Timestack.