A movie version of the currently running Broadway revival of “Othello,” starring Denzel Washington and Jake Gyllenhaal, and directed by Kenny Leon, is in the works, according to its director.
Leon tells THR that Washington would be reprising his performance in the title role. Leon would be directing the screen version, but no word yet as to whether Washington’s co-star, Gyllenhaal, would be a part of the big screen adaptation.
Set in the “near future,” Leon’s “Othello” has Iago (Gyllenhaal) manipulating Othello (Washington) into thinking that his wife, Desdemona (Molly Osborne), is having an affair. This is the first Broadway production of “Othello” in more than 40 years.
Last year, Washington had hinted about this project, telling The Today Show that one of his next films would include a big-screen adaptation of “Othello.”
"I'm only interested in working with the best. I don't know how many more films I'm going to make, probably not that many," Washington told Today. Adding that his next projects include “a role in a Steve McQueen film, ‘Black Panther 3,’ and a film version of Othello.
Someone should let Leon and Washington know that Daniel Craig and Bond producer Barbara Broccoli are also working on bringing their 2016 off-broadway take on “Othello” to the big screen — their version is set in Iraq during the start of the 2003 war invasion. The play’s director, Sam Gold, is set to also helm the film version.
A British filing by Broccoli’s Eon Productions, registering a new Othello Film Company Limited, confirmed the film. Broccoli had secured funding on “Othello” by making a deal with the Qataris to set part of the next Bond film in Doha. Now that Broccoli no longer owns Bond, I’m not entirely sure if that deal is still in place.
It should be noted that Craig/Broccoli’s version of “Othello” earned raves from critics, while Leon/Denzel’s revival has so far garnered mixed reviews.