A TV version of “The Great Gatsby” has reportedly been...green lit.
F. Scott Fitzgerald’s iconic novel, which entered into the public domain this year, is being adapted into a miniseries by writer Michael Hirst (”Elizabeth,” “The Tudors”), according to The Hollywood Reporter.
But unlike other on-screen versions of the eponymous Jay Gatsby and the scandalous mysteries of West Egg, Hirst’s reimagined version, A+E Studios and ITV Studios America, will “will explore New York’s Black community in the 1920s as well as the musical subculture.”
“I have long dreamt of a more diverse, inclusive version of Gatsby that better reflects the America we live in, one that might allow us all to see ourselves in Scott’s wildly romantic text,” Blake Hazard, a great-granddaughter of Scott and Zelda Fitzgerald and a consulting producer on the project, said in a statement.
“Michael brings a deep reverence for Scott’s work to the project, but also a fearlessness about bringing such an iconic story to life in an accessible and fresh way.”
It’s unclear whether that means Black main characters, including Gatsby, Nick Carraway, Daisy Buchanan and Myrtle Wilson, or new characters.
A+E Studios President Barry Jossen said Hirst’s version will stay “true to Fitzgerald’s novel while building on that legacy with a modern vision that will be more reflective of America both then and now, including an enhanced exploration of the female characters.”
“Gatsby” was adapted for the big screen most recently in Baz Luhrmann’s 2013 glitzy feature, starring Leonardo DiCaprio, Tobey Maguire and Carey Mulligan. Robert Redford and Mia Farrow took one of the most iconic spins in the 1974 film.
