A more than century-old story is getting a refresh with a brand-new adaptation that is taking a page from the Twilight books. The Kristen Stewart and Robert Pattinson-led Twilight movies were global sensations, with the adaptation of Stephanie Meyer’s young adult vampire love saga earning more than $3.36 billion over five movies.
According to ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, there’s plenty of hype for this “bold contemporary reimainging” adaptation of Gaston Leroux’s 1909 novel The Phantom of the Opera, written and directed by French filmmaker Alexandre Castagnetti, who promises Twilight-vibes. As production begins, it’s already pre-sold to most of Europe, Canada, South and Central America, and Asia. A U.S. distributor hasn’t been confirmed as of writing.
The movie centers around 18-year-old ballerina Anastasia, a new dancer at Paris’ Opéra Garnier, which is haunted by the mysterious phantom of the opera. After meeting the phantom one night, Anastasia finds her life changing. The prima ballerina meant for the lead role in the ballet’s production of Orpheus suffers an accident, leading to Anastasia taking on the lead role.
Deva Cᴀssel, who recently starred in Netflix’s The Leopard, stars as Anastasia, with Julien De Saint-Jean (2024’s acclaimed The Count of Monte Cristo), and Romain Duris (The Three Musketeers) starring alongside her. Ballet performers Guillaume Diop and Dorothée Gilbert are also set to star.
The Phantom of the Opera is currently set for a September 23, 2026, release date in France.
What This Means For The 2026 Movie Schedule
According to the director of International Distribution at Paris-based SND, Ramay Nahas, “the announcement of the project has sparked global excitement” and could make The Phantom of the Opera a standout entry on the 2026 new release calendar. That claim is backed up by the number of countries outside of France that have already lined up to distribute the movie, even if the U.S. is currently absent from that list.
This speaks to the growing awareness of must-see international movies. From Parasite winning Best Picture at the Oscars to movies like Godzilla Minus One‘s impressive box office haul, non-Hollywood movies are becoming more reliable hits.
If The Phantom of the Opera can hit with the fandom that made the Twilight movies a success, there’s definitely a chance it could become another international success story.
Our Take On New Phantom Of The Opera Adaptation
The most famous adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera remains Andrew Lloyd Webber’s Broadway musical, but there are a number of notable movie adaptations. There’s Joel Schumacher’s 2004 direct adaptation of Webber’s musical, Brian De Palma’s own spin on the story in 1974’s Phantom of the Paradise, and the silent movie classic The Phantom of the Opera from 1925.
Watch 2004’s The Phantom of the Opera and De Palma’s Phantom of the Paradise via digital on-demand; 1925’s The Phantom of the Opera is streaming for free on Tubi, and The Roku Channel, as well as part of the AMC Plus and MGM Plus libraries.
However, as Castagnetti noted to ᴅᴇᴀᴅline, this is the first-ever French language adaptation of The Phantom of the Opera, which admittedly surprised me considering the novel’s French roots. It is undoubtedly cool, though, that a French filmmaker is finally getting the chance to tell this story.
Even though I wasn’t exactly the target audience for Twilight movies, I’m intrigued how that angle will come into play for The Phantom of the Opera.
Source: ᴅᴇᴀᴅline
