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.