Paul Bettany & Will Sharpe to Lead Sky's New Take on 'Amadeus'

In an era of remakes and reboots, everything old is indeed new again, even the stuff that may have been better left alone. This is a lot to say that it's okay if you don't know precisely how to feel about the fact that British broadcaster Sky is working on a new version of the award-winning Amadeus, even if it does have an intriguingly buzzy pair of stars attached. (Who asked for this seems like a fair question!)

A limited television series adaptation, this Amadeus is set to explore composer Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart's time composing in Vienna in the late eighteenth century. It is described as a "reimagining" of Peter Shaffer's Tony Award-winning play of the same name, which he later reworked into a 1984 feature film starring F. Murray Abraham and Tom Hulce. It was nominated for 11 Academy Awards and won 8 of them, including Best Picture, Best Director, and Best Actor, which Abraham took home for his performance as the Italian composer Antonio Salieri. 

Sky's television version will see The White Lotus star Will Sharpe play Mozart, while Paul Bettany (A Very British Scandal) takes on the role of his infamous longtime rival. This adaptation will reportedly expand and further explore the "mythic rivalry" between the two composers, as Salieri's envy turns vengeful and he becomes increasingly determined to protect his own position within the musical establishment as Mozart's star rises.  

“I can’t wait to work with Julian Farino, Joe Barton, Sky and Will Sharpe who, for my money, is hands down the most exciting actor of his generation,” Bettany said in a statement when the news of his casting was announced. 

Here's the series description: 

Set within the musical hub of bustling Vienna at the end of the 18th century, twenty-five-year-old Amadeus arrives in the city no longer a child and determined to carve his own path. Recently unemployed and without the management of his father, Amadeus finds an unlikely ally in a young singer who will become his wife, fiery Constanze Weber Mozart. Her connections help bring him into the orbit of the court composer Antonio Salieri, setting the three of them on a collision course that will ultimately define their lives and their legacies for years to come.

Amadeus will reunite The Lazarus Project writer Joe Barton with his former Girl/Haji director Julian Farino, who will helm this series alongside Alice Seabright (Sex Education) will serve as directors

The series is produced by Two Cities Television, part of STV Studios, in association with Sky Studios. Executive producers include Sharpe, Barton, and Farino, as well as Megan Spanjian for Sky Studios, Michael Jackson (Patrick Melrose) and Stephen Wright (Blue Lights) for Two Cities Television. 

Production is due to start in Hungary this Spring.