MCU alums Benedict Cumberbatch and Olivia Colman are set to star in a reimagining of War of the Roses for Disney’s Searchlight Pictures.
According to The Hollywood Reporter, Jay Roach will direct the dark comedy retitled The Roses (Meet The Parents). Tony McNamara, who earned an Oscar nomination for writing Searchlight’s Oscar-nominated Poor Things, as well as Disney’s Cruella, penned the script.
The original, directed by Danny DeVito and starring Michael Douglas and Kathleen Turner, follows a wealthy couple with a seemingly perfect marriage. When their marriage begins to fall apart, material possessions become the center of an outrageous and bitter divorce battle.
Cumberbatch and Colman will obviously play the new couple.
In both the novel and the film, the married couple’s family name is Rose, and the title is an allusion to the battles between the warring houses of York and Lancaster who were contending for the English throne during the late Middle Ages. In Germany, the film was such a huge success that its German title Der Rosenkrieg became synonymous with high-conflict divorce and is now regularly used in the media.
Cumberbatch is spearheading production through his SunnyMarch label alongside Leah Clarke and Adam Ackland from the company. Colman will be overseeing production through her South of the River banner alongside collaborators Ed Sinclair and Tom Carver. Additionally, Roach and Michelle Graham are contributing as producers, while Jonathan R. Adler and Michael Adler from Adler Entertainment Trust serve as executive producers.
