Spirited: Octavia Spencer in talks to Jjoin Ferrell & Reynolds in Apple’s musical film
According to Collider, Oscar winner Octavia Spencer (Hidden Figures, The Shape of Water) has entered negotiations to star opposite Will Ferrell and Ryan Reynolds in Apple Studios’ upcoming musical reimagining titled Spirited based on the classic tale A Christmas Carol. Should the deal pushes through, this project would mark Spencer’s latest collaboration with Apple TV+, which is currently working on the second season of Truth Be Told.
Spencer is reportedly set to portray the role of a good-natured colleague to Reynolds’ Scrooge-like character. Her unnamed character will help Ferrell’s Present teach the man kindness during the holiday season.
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Spirited, a reimagining of the Charles Dickens classic, will reunite Ferrell with Daddy’s Home team Sean Anders and John Morris who will write and produce the film. Ferrell and Jessica Elbaum will produce under their Gloria Sanchez banner with Reynolds and George Dewey producing via their Maximum Effort label. Anders and Morris will produce under their company Two Grown Men.
A Christmas Carol is the famous tale of miserly Ebenezer Scrooge, who is visited by ghosts of Christmas Past, Present, and Future. There have been many feature adaptations of the story, including Bill Murray’s Scrooged, The Muppet Christmas Carol, Jim Carrey’s 2009 animated take from Robert Zemeckis, and the 1984 film starring Oscar winner George C. Scott.
Charles Dickens’ immortal classic was first published in 1843 and has seen nearly two dozen film adaptations since the advent of the medium, starting in 1901 all the way through the Jim Carrey/Robert Zemeckis performance-capture version in 2009, with just as many done for television.
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Ferrell and Reynolds both previously appeared in the Richard Nixon/White House comedy Dick in 1999 but shared no scenes and haven’t properly collaborated ever. Reynolds will next be seen in a number of high-profile projects such as Free Guy, The Hitman’s Wife’s Bodyguard, Red Notice, The Adam Project, and the untitled third Deadpool film, which will introduce the anti-hero to the MCU. While Ferrell is also set to lead Apple TV+’s series adaptation of The Shrink Next Door along with Paul Rudd and Kathryn Hahn.
(Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images)
