Sony is adapting Romeo and Juliet into a gritty, 300-style action flick


A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Thank you for signing up to TheWeek. You will receive a verification email shortly.
There was a problem. Please refresh the page and try again.
Some stories are timeless. Take Romeo and Juliet. It's been well over 400 years since Shakespeare wrote the definitive version of the tragic love story, but it still shows up in everything from straight-up adaptations to modernized riffs like West Side Story or High School Musical.
Perhaps it's no great surprise, then, that a Hollywood studio is about to deliver the grim, gritty Romeo and Juliet action movie absolutely no one has been asking for. Sony is in final negotiations to pick up the spec script for Verona, which reimagines Romeo and Juliet by setting it "an epic, 300-style world" — because if there's one complaint people had about 300, it was the lack of a tragic love story.
Anyone who can't wait for Verona to hit theaters can get their gritty, vaguely Shakespearean action fix by snapping up a battered VHS copy of Romeo Must Die at their local Blockbuster Video's liquidation sale.
Subscribe to The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
Continue reading for free
We hope you're enjoying The Week's refreshingly open-minded journalism.
Subscribed to The Week? Register your account with the same email as your subscription.
Sign up to our 10 Things You Need to Know Today newsletter
A free daily digest of the biggest news stories of the day - and the best features from our website
Scott Meslow is the entertainment editor for TheWeek.com. He has written about film and television at publications including The Atlantic, POLITICO Magazine, and Vulture.
-
Exodus begins from Burning Man after desert mud trapped tens of thousands
Speed Read
By Peter Weber Published
-
'Margaritaville' singer Jimmy Buffett dies at 76
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
American Airlines suing website that offers tickets via price loopholes
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Federal agencies investigating near miss between Southwest jet and private plane
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
'Euphoria' star Angus Cloud dies at 25
Speed Read
By Catherine Garcia Published
-
Pee-wee Herman actor Paul Reubens dies at 70
Speed Read
By Brendan Morrow Published
-
Trader Joe's recalls 4 products in a week amid reports of rocks and insects inside food
Speed Read
By Justin Klawans Published
-
Emmys to be postponed for first time since after 9/11 due to strikes
Speed Read
By Brendan Morrow Published